Depression in elderly patient with chronic disease

Abstract

Introduction: the depression, in the older patient is a frequent disease, it is more frequent in female with loss of the personal autonomy and economic dependence.

Objective: Identify the characteristics and type of depression in the older patient, with chronic illness.

Material and methods: survey poblacional, transversal, applying scale to identify degrees of depression, in patient affiliated to the Social Security, with 65 years or more both sexs and with chronic illness. Sex, civil state, economic and physical dependence, family composition, school degree, and occupation were studied; 51 male (41.5%) and 72 female (58.5%), according to the scale utilized in the patients didn't have depression; 40 (32.5%) of the patients had light, 55 (44.5%) moderate depression and 3 (2.5%) severe depression. Upon resisting patients depressed with the not depressed, no significant difference were founds for sex, civil state, economic dependence, school degree, occupation and pathology. It was found statistical significance in the physical dependence, with emphasis at moderate depression and light depression (p<0.001).

Discussion: the only factor that could have relation with the depression is the physical dependence, it was not achieved to show that the other factors be presents.