EPIDEMIOLOGY AND ASSOCIATED FACTORS OF DEPRESSION IN THE ELDERLY DURING COVID-19

Abstract

Introduction: Most deaths caused by Covid-19 are of people over 60 years old, in Brazil, in 2021, this population represents 67.9% of the dead, due to complications from the virus. Faced with this, people in isolation suffered several effects on their health, especially with regard to mental health, such as sleep disorders, concentration on daily tasks, the appearance of intrusive thoughts, feelings of hopelessness, boredom, loneliness, anxiety and depression. Thus, the elderly stand out as the group most affected by mental disorders, with emphasis on depression, which is an aggravating factor for health, triggered by the consequences of social withdrawal, quarantine, the economic crisis, domestic accidents such as falls and high numbers of deaths caused by covid. The objective of this study was to identify scientific evidence in the literature about the impacts of social isolation on the mental health of the elderly during the pandemic, as well as recommendations to prevent depression. Method: This is a descriptive and exploratory study, of the integrative literature review type, carried out in the following databases: LILACS, BRISA AND SCIELO. Results and Discussions: With an analysis of the literature, it was evidenced that depression was one of the biggest impacts caused by the pandemic on the health of the elderly, resulting from sequelae caused by social isolation and the pandemic. Allied to this, domestic accidents, such as falls, are also classified as a predisposing factor for depression during social isolation, given that many elderly people live alone or spend more time exposed to risky situations in their homes, being more likely to fall into their homes and cause fractures. In this aspect, psychic disorders were intensified especially in these individuals in the current pandemic moment, the multimorbidities present in the elderly have a strong impact on the increase of mental health problems, causing emotional distress in these individuals. In this process, recommendations to support the elderly are essential with regard to predisposing factors for depression. Final Considerations: The study highlights the association of depression and the worsening of psychiatric pathologies related to the process of social isolation resulting from the pandemic, associated with the high rate of falls present in this population.