RISK FACTORS FOR DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS IN ELDERLY DIABETES

• DOI: 10.22533/at.ed.1593522310073

• Palavras-chave: Elderly, Diabetes Mellitus, Depressive Symptoms

• Keywords: Elderly, Diabetes Mellitus, Depressive Symptoms

• Abstract:

  Worldwide, more than 425 million people have Diabetes Mellitus, one third of whom are over 65 years of age, and 79% live in low- and middle-income countries, as well as more than 300 million have depression. The relationship between diabetes, other comorbidities and depression represents one of the challenges in public health in the next decade. Furthermore, diabetes and depression seem to have a complex association, and there may be a bidirectional relationship. In this context, the research aims to identify risk factors for depressive symptoms in elderly people with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. Cross-sectional, descriptive and analytical study. Participants aged 65 and over, with type 2 diabetes Mellitus, followed at a specialized center for diabetics and hypertensives in Northeast Brazil were included. Sociodemographic data were collected and the Yesavage Geriatric Depression Scale was applied, suggestive of depression when scores greater than 5. The age of the elderly ranged from 65 to 94 years. Regarding income, 56.3% of participants who earn less than 1 minimum wage and 49.4% of those who earn 1 to 2 wages have depressive symptoms (p=0.011). There was a relationship between the number of comorbidities and depressive symptoms (p=0.049). Diabetic elderly with symptoms of depression had an average of 2.2±1.6 comorbidities against 1.8±1.4 of the others. The probability of an elderly person with depression having other associated chronic conditions is greater. In addition, patients with multimorbidities relate the onset of depression to events such as the appearance of physical symptoms and functional limitations. There was an important relationship between depressive symptoms and cognitive problems (p<0.001), where 76.6% of participants with cognitive impairment have scores suggestive of depression. This association between cognitive problems and depressive symptoms has already been observed in the literature, and there seems to be evidence supporting both early depression as a risk factor for dementia, and depression being a prodromal sign of dementia. A strong relationship was found between elderly diabetics and depressive symptoms when associated with low socioeconomic status, dementia and multiple comorbidities. This shows the relevance of multidisciplinary care, which can have a positive impact on preventing the development of depression and improving the quality of life of this population.