Depressão na população idosa: Os médicos estão investigando?

Objectives: To evaluate whether doctors are investigating depression in the elderly. Methods: Cross-sectional population-based survey, including individuals aged 60 years or above, resident in the urban area of Pelotas, Brazil. The sample was selected using a multiple-stage protocol based on Brazilian census data. Results: We interviewed 583 subjects (non-response rate: 4.7%). We found that 76.6% of the subjects were not asked if he/she was feeling sad or depressed in their previous medical consultation. Depression investigation was significantly higher in women and among those with a higher depression score. Among women, sadness or depression was investigated in 28.7% of the consultations, while among men, the equivalent percentage was 14.8% (PR=1.93; p<0.001). Conclusion: Depression is not routinely investigated in clinical settings. Doctors should be alerted and trained on the monitoring of depression in this age group.