Prevalence of depression and associated factors in the elderly treated in Primary Health Care in a metropolitan region of the Federal District

Abstract

Aims: To verify the prevalence of depression and the sociodemographic and clinical variables associated with this disorder in the elderly assisted in Primary Health Care (PHC) in the metropolitan area of the Federal District. Methods: Cross-sectional study carried out between January and August 2018, with elderly people assisted in the Basic Unit, with elderly people attended at the Basic Health Unit of Granja do Torto, Brasília, DF, were included. An instrument was applied dealing with sociodemographic, behavioral and clinical variables. To evaluate depressive symptoms, the Geriatric Depression Scale, reduced version (EDG-15), was used. In the data analysis, descriptive statistics and application of the chi-square test were performed for association of categorical variables, with a significance level of 5% (p≤ 0.05). Results: The sample consisted of 70 elderly people. A prevalence of 41.4% of depressive symptoms was found in the elderly studied, 35.7% with indicative of mild depression and 5.7% of severe depression. In the group with depressive symptoms, there was a predominance of females, aged between 70 and 79 years, married, Catholic, illiterate, retired, of low income and with two or more people with a degree of kinship living in the same residence. In the group with depression, a significant association with education (p = 0.05), level of education (p = 0.04), monthly income (p = 0.006), clinical conditions such as osteoporosis (p = 0.02) and arthritis / arthrosis (p = 0.03), falls (p = 0.03) and use of antidepressants (p = 0.02), with escitalopram being the most used in this class (p = 0.004). Conclusion: There was a high prevalence of depression among the elderly in PHC in the metropolitan region of the Federal District, female and aged between 70 and 79 years. Variables such as education, level of education, monthly income, osteoporosis, arthritis / arthrosis, falls and use of antidepressants showed statistically significant differences in those with depression. Thus, early screening for depressive symptoms is essential, with more precision in the diagnosis and treatment of this disorder, with non-pharmacological and pharmacological interventions, performed by a specialized multidisciplinary team, trained to assist the elderly in the PHC network, avoiding the deleterious effects on quality of life of individuals in this group.