Perfil de risco para o transtorno depressivo em idosos na cidade de Palhoça, Santa Catarina - Brasil

Depression is a worldwide public health problem. Among the elderly, it causes social and functional limitations, reduced quality of life and reaches high rates of morbidity and mortality, as it takes on uncharacteristic forms, often difficult to diagnose and, consequently, to treat. The objective of this study was to analyze the risk profile for depressive disorder in the elderly in the city of Palhoca, Santa Catarina - Brazil. A cross-sectional observational study was carried out with 170 elderly people, aged 60 years or over, registered in the Basic Units of the city of Palhoca - SC, from October 2017 to October 2019. Data were collected based on sociodemographic questions , lifestyle and clinical habits, as well as signs and symptoms related to depression using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) scale and analyzed using the statistical program SPSS Version 18.0. In this study, a prevalence of 31.8% of signs and symptoms compatible with depression was noted, among these 66.7% were female, 53.7% were aged between 60 and 69 years, 66.7% were elderly people living with a partner, and 75.9% in the insufficiently active. The results demonstrate that the depressive disorder is frequently found in the elderly age group, with an association with the female sex, between 60 and 69 years old, in the presence of a partner and a sedentary lifestyle; emphasizing the need for knowledge of these risk profiles so that the manifestations cannot go unnoticed or be confused, by health professionals, with symptoms of the natural aging process.