OBJECTIVES:
To estimate the prevalence of depressive symptoms among elderly patients admitted in the emergency service of Porto Alegre Clinical Hospital, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, and assess the association between depressive symptoms and sociodemographic characteristics and use of health services by the elderly.
METHODS:
Cross-sectional study of 96 elderly patients admitted to the emergency room. The presence of depressive symptoms was evaluated through the application of the Geriatric Depression Scale - short version (GDS-15), and was applied instrument on sociodemographic variables and use of health services. Descriptive and bivariate analyzes were performed, and statistical significance level was 5% (p≤0.05).
RESULTS:
We found a prevalence of 36.5% of depressive symptoms in the sample, and of these, 6.3% of the elderly had scores suggestive of severe depression. It identified significant association between depressive symptoms and widowhood, observing that depressive symptoms were more frequent among women, low education and those who did not use health services.
CONCLUSION:
The study found high prevalence of depressive symptoms among elderly patients admitted in the emergency department. It emphasizes the importance of recognizing and making the diagnosis of depression in the elderly in these services in order to work with a broader view of the health-disease process, provide treatment and better interventions on the network.
Depressive Symptoms; Elderly; Emergency Service; Hospital
