Fatores relacionados a sintomas depressivos em idosas praticantes e não praticantes de atividade física

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Population aging has occurred particularly fast in Brazil, and changes in epidemiological patterns have become increasingly important in public health. In this scenario, depression stands out among chronic noncommunicable diseases (CNCD's), because it demands longer time of use of health services and higher social and economic costs in relation to other chronic diseases. OBJECTIVE: Investigate the factors related to depressive symptoms in practicing and non-physically active elderly women. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study conducted in Campina Grande between March and November 2015. There were 71 elderly participants which 35 were physical activity practitioners (PAP) and 36 were non-physical activity practitioners (NPAP). Older women aged 60 years and over were included in the Open University Program in Free Time and living groups for the elderly. Older PAPs that did not attend 75% of the Program activities in the 6 months prior to data collection were excluded. The dependent variable was depression, verified through the Geriatric Depression Scale - reduced (GDS - 15). The independent variables were socio-demographic (age, number of residents and socioeconomic level), health status (number of referred morbidities, number of visits in the last 12 months, number of hospitalizations in the last 12 months, memory, cognitive function and sleep quality) and physical-functional status (gain and weight loss, in kilos, in the 12 months preceding the interview, body mass index, waist circumference, calf circumference, manual grip strength; number of falls in the past 12 months preceding the interview; instrumental activities of daily living). To test the correlation between the GDS scores and the independent variables, a Gamma regression model belonging to the Generalized Linear Models (GLM) class was used and a significance level of 5% was tested. RESULTS: 35 PAP and 36 NPAP women were evaluated. The mean age of the elderly PAP was 70.5 years (± 5.1) and the elderly NPAP was 72.3 years (± 7.8). In the identification of the factors associated with depression, it was observed that the Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (AIDLs) (p = 0.023) presented a significant positive correlation, while the number of falls and sleep quality (PSQI) (p = 0.002) showed a significant negative correlation with the GDZ-15 score. Among the NPAP, it was observed that the subjective memory complaint (p = 0.047) showed a significant negative correlation with the GDS-15 score. CONCLUSIONS: Among the elderly PAP in the presence of depression there was less involvement due to sleep disorders; as well as less occurrence of falls and greater achievement of IADLs. As for the elderly NPAP in the presence of depression there was less memory impairment. Interventions for prevention and early diagnosis are made possible by obtaining data from studies such as this, which favor professional training in the active search of the public at risk for depression. With this type of behavior it is possible to reduce the impact of depression on public health, both in social costs and financial investment, considering the reduction of comorbidities from depression.