Depression and frailty in old age: A narrative review of the literature published between 2008 and 2018

Abstract

This article reports a narrative review of the literature on the relationships between depression and frailty in the elderly. We selected 28 articles retrieved from the LILACS, MEDLINE/PubMed and SciELO databases published in the last decade (2008-2018). The literature review revealed the predominance of screening measures for depression and the conceptual model of the frailty phenotype. Variations in the associations between the two conditions mediated by variables related to gender, physical, cognitive and socioemotional aspects, biological markers, use of antidepressants and risk of mortality were observed. The findings corroborate the combined impact of the two syndromes, which promote greater health decline, vulnerability and a high-risk profile. Although considered distinct syndromes, depression and frailty are strongly associated. There is a lack of national data on the combined effect of the phenomena in the Brazilian elderly population.