DEPENDENCE OF THE GERIATRIC DEPRESSION SCORES ON AGE, NUTRITIONAL STATUS, AND HAEMATOLOGIC VARIABLES IN ELDERLY INSTITUTIONALIZED PATIENTS

Objective: To evaluate the relationships between depression and ageing, nutrition, and selected haematologic variables. Measurements: A cross-sectional study was performed in elderly institutionalized patients (n=100) of all nursing homes in the Brazilian city of Uberlândia, with determination of the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) and the Mini-Nutritional Assessment (MNA) scores, and selected haematologic variables. Results: GDS had a significant negative dependence with the MNA for the entire institutionalized population. The prevalence of depression was higher among females, but significant correlations existed between GDS scores and erythrocytes counts, haemoglobin levels, or haematocrit values for the males only. However, a borderline correlation existed between GDS and the mean corpuscular volume (MCV) values in the females. Conclusions: Depression was associated with worsening of nutritional status and the degree of anemia of the entire elderly population and the male, but not the female subjects. The borderline correlation observed between the GDS and MCV for the female subjects suggests that the nutritional deficiencies responsible for the MCV increase are a cause, and not an effect, of depression.