Exercicio físico em grupo em idosos com transtorno depressivo e qualidade do sono insatisfatória

Abstract

The population over 60 years is growing faster in relation to other age groups, and aging may be accompanied by chronic-degenerative and psychiatric diseases. Depressive disorders are common and significant among the elderly. Often associated with these, insomnia may cause functional damages to the body, in the short and long terms. After conventional psychiatric treatment of an elderly patient suffering from a depressive disorder associated with insatisfactory subjective sleep quality, residual chronic symptoms of depression and of insomnia are common. Some seniors present only partial response or do not respond to the available antidepressant medications. Side effects and drug interactions considered not only with antidpressants but with hypnotics as well assume difficult complexities in old age. So, it is interesting to study methods to potentiate effects of medications and reduce doses. Physical exercise would be a possibility, due to the many other benefits it generates for the body. Thus, the objective of this study is to evaluate the effect physical exercise, practised in group, on residual symptoms of depression and of sleep, in elderly patients with depression and insomnia. This is a randomized study, in which the intervention group was given a functional training program and orientations for sleep hygiene, for 12 weeks, 2 times a week. The control group, received only sleep hygiene. Despite the small sample, there was improvement in depressive symptoms and sleep in the intervention group, marginally significant, as well as improvement in other parameters evaluated. Physical exercise is a potential adjunctive therapy in geriatric depressive disorders when sleep quality remains insatisfactory, in spite of adequate psychiatric treatment