[Prevalence of depression in patients over 65 years of age. Profile of the elderly at risk].

OBJECTIVES

To calculate the prevalence of emotional disorders in primary care, using a screening test--the Yesavage--and the association of emotional disorders with other variables, with the aim of identifying the profile of an elderly person most likely to be depressed at some juncture of his/her life.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional, descriptive study.

SETTING

Urban health care.

PATIENTS AND OTHER PARTICIPANTS

Sample of 173 patients over 64 years old.

MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS

An integrated geriatric assessment was conducted. The complete version of the Yesavage scale was used (30 items). 16% prevalence of depression (score over 15) was established. The following variables were associated with depression in a statistically significant way: feminine sex (p = 0.000009), age > or = 75 (p = 0.04), illiteracy or completion of only primary education (p = 0.01), dependence in one or more activities of daily life according to the Katz index (p = 0.0000006), personal history of depression (p = 0.01), current treatment for depression (p = 0.0002), daily consumption of three or more drugs (p = 0.0009) and social isolation (p = 0.00006). Multivariate analysis revealed that low educational level (p = 0.006), dependence in one or more activities of daily life (p = 0.008) and social isolation (p = 0.0008) are the variables most associated with depression.

CONCLUSIONS

The association between low educational level and depression may be due to difficulty in understanding certain questions. A therapeutic intervention into established undiagnosed depressions took place. The Yesavage geriatric scale was useful in primary care for identifying undetected cases of emotional disorder.