Fragilidade e sintomas depressivos em idosos com alteração cognitiva: estudo exploratório transversal

Abstract

Introduction: Dementia is a complex and prevalent health condition in the elderly with a progressive course that leads to loss of cognitive abilities and dependence with negative health outcomes that can overlap with depressive symptoms and frailty. Objective: To assess the frequency of frailty and depressive symptoms in elderly people with cognitive impairment, and to verify the presence of an association between these two variables and the cognitive function test score. Methodology: An exploratory cross-sectional study was carried out. For the frailty and depressive symptoms outcomes, the Fried phenotype and the Cornell Depression in Dementia Scale (ECDD) were used, and for the screening of elderly people with cognitive impairment, the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE). Descriptive and correlation analyzes were performed (Chi-square test or Pearson's correlation test). Results: Fifty-nine elderly (81.7±7.8 years), female (78%), with low education (2.2±1.1 years) and diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease (84.7%) were evaluated. Of these, 47.5% were frail and 45.8% had depressive symptoms. There was no correlation between frailty and positive screening for depressive symptoms (p=0.253), nor between frailty and ECDD total score (r=0.219; p=0.095). There was a weak correlation between MMSE score and positive screening for depressive symptoms (r=0.259; p=0.048) and between MMSE and ECDD total score (r=-0.313; p=0.016). MMSE did not correlate with frailty (r=0.065; p=0.624). Conclusion: Frailty and the presence of depressive symptoms are prevalent conditions in the elderly with cognitive impairment. However, there were no correlations between the two conditions in the elderly with cognitive impairment evaluated.