NUTRITIONAL STATE AND DEPRESSION OF BRAZILIAN AND PORTUGUESE ELDERLY PEOPLE: A COMPARATIVE STUDY
Depression, Nutritional Status, Aged, Nutrition, Mental Health.
Objective: To determine the relationship between depressive symptoms and nutritional status of the elderly. Methods: Cross-sectional study, conducted with elderly from 02 Family Health Strategies in Natal and Santa Cruz (RN, Brazil) and, in Portugal, in the Elderly Care Services of Évora. The instruments were: Questionnaire with sociodemographic data, MMSE Questionnaire, Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15), Beck Depression Inventory and Mini Nutritional Assessment (MAN). Results: Most of the elderly had no depression (48.1%), but those with moderate or severe depression were at risk of malnutrition or malnutrition, in addition, the variables income (up to 1 minimum wage), gender (female) and education (1 5 years) were significantly related to nutritional status. Discussion: The results show that although the number of malnourished elderly with severe depression was lower, depression may affect nutritional status, since those with depression were already at risk of malnutrition.