Depresión en el adulto mayor: factores de riesgo y manejo el primer nivel de atención.

Abstract

Depression in the elderly is a public health problem whose prevalence has increased and has become an important focus of attention due to the rapid growth of the geriatric population in the last 20 years. (1) There are several risk factors for developing this pathology such as: poor family support network, sleep disorders, underlying medical comorbidities, including dementia and neurocognitive impairment, which often go undiagnosed. It is also relevant to point out that depression is not part of aging, contrary to popular beliefs.

In this article a review of the literature on depression in the elderly is made, focusing on the diagnosis, prognosis, risk factors for developing this pathology and management by the first level of medical care, supported by electronic databases of the last 12 years.