Relationship between Frailty and Depression in a Population from North-Eastern Romania

Alexandra Maștaleru, Irina Mihaela Abdulan, Ramona Ștefăniu, Nicoleta Lefter, Ioana Alexandra Sandu, Anca Iuliana Pîslaru, Maria Magdalena Leon-Constantin, Ioana Dana Alexa and Adina Carmen Ilie
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Alexandra Maștaleru: Department of Medical Specialties I, “Grigore T. Popa” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 700115 Iași, Romania
Irina Mihaela Abdulan: Department of Medical Specialties I, “Grigore T. Popa” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 700115 Iași, Romania
Ramona Ștefăniu: Department of Medical Specialties II, “Grigore T. Popa” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 700115 Iaşi, Romania
Nicoleta Lefter: Department of Medical Specialties II, “Grigore T. Popa” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 700115 Iaşi, Romania
Ioana Alexandra Sandu: Department of Medical Specialties II, “Grigore T. Popa” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 700115 Iaşi, Romania
Anca Iuliana Pîslaru: Department of Medical Specialties II, “Grigore T. Popa” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 700115 Iaşi, Romania
Maria Magdalena Leon-Constantin: Department of Medical Specialties I, “Grigore T. Popa” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 700115 Iași, Romania
Ioana Dana Alexa: Department of Medical Specialties II, “Grigore T. Popa” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 700115 Iaşi, Romania
Adina Carmen Ilie: Department of Medical Specialties II, “Grigore T. Popa” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 700115 Iaşi, Romania

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 9, 1-11

Abstract: (1) Background: In the older population, depression often affects people with chronic medical illnesses, cognitive impairment, or disability. Frailty is another important issue affecting older adults, being difficult to clinically distinguish from frailty in advanced old age. Well-designed interventional studies and clinical strategies targeting both frailty and depression are rare or nonexistent. (2) Methods: We realized a retrospective study in which we included a total of 411 patients that were admitted to the Geriatric Clinic from “Dr. C. I. Parhon” Hospital from Iasi for a period of 13 months. The aim of our study was to investigate the relationship between depression and frailty in a geriatric population due to the fact that the quality of life is negatively influenced by both frailty and depression. (3) Results: The prevalence of the depressive symptoms screened by the GDS-15 was 66.7%, with women being more depressed than men. Furthermore, an obvious relationship between depression and the dependence degree in performing daily activities has been observed. In addition, the mean MMSE score decreased with an increasing degree of depression. (4) Conclusions: Our study demonstrates the association between frailty and depression, one of them being a risk factor in the development of the other. A poor acknowledgment of the problem and an underdiagnosis of these conditions are important public health concerns due to the high healthcare costs. Thus, an active primary prevention would be imperiously needed in order to diagnose frailty and depression at an early stage, increasing the quality of life of the elderly and also their successful aging.

Keywords: frailty; depression; geriatric assessment; quality of life (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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