Resumen

GONCALVES, Amadeu et al. Benzodiazepine use in the depressed elderly. Revista Portuguesa de Enfermagem de Saúde Mental [online]. 2017, n.spe5, pp.107-111. ISSN 1647-2160.  https://doi.org/10.19131/rpesm.0176.

BACKGROUND: Aging leads to the development of a depressive process, with very high prevalence of depression and anxiety in the institutionalized geriatric population (Montenegro & Silva, 2007). Associated with aging, depression can be considered a public health problem, with implications for the individual, family and society. It is necessary to intervene in these clinical settings, either through psychotherapy (namely cognitive-behavioral therapy), or through a pharmacological approach to the problem using antidepressant medications, often associated with benzodiazepine anxiolytics (BZD's). OBJECTIVES: To evaluate whether treatment with benzodiazepines (BZD's) exerts an influence on the depressive symptomatology and on the cognitive functioning of the institutionalized elderly. METHODOLOGY: This is a cross-sectional and correlational quantitative study. The data were collected in a Residential Structure for the Elderly (ERPI) in the central region of Portugal (Covilhã). In addition to the sociodemographic questionnaire, three psychological assessment scales were used: the Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE) with the objective of cognitively assessing the participants; The Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15) to measure depressive symptomatology and the Geriatric Anxiety Scale (GAI-SF). All these scales are duly adapted to the Portuguese population and have good psychometric characteristics. The data were introduced and analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23.0. RESULTS: We found that 54.8% of the sample consumed BZDs daily, with lorazepam being the one most consumed (58.8%), and the medical specialty that prescribes them the most is psychiatry, 35.5%. Of the participants who consume BZD`s the majority is of the feminine gender. Based on MMSE results in GDS-15 and GAI-SF, it appears that BZD consumption has a negative impact on the participants' cognitive and gender deficits, since a statistically significant difference was found. CONCLUSIONS: The results show that it is the elderly who consume BZD's who present greater depressive and anxious symptomatology and those that denote a greater cognitive deficit. Inappropriate use of benzodiazepines in the institutionalized elderly is a well-known problem and therefore should be monitored. However, the fact that the sample is reduced and considering the existence of polymedication in the elderly, the results obtained should be interpreted with some caution and without generalizations.

Palabras clave : Benzodiazepines; elderly; depression; anxiety; cognitive functioning.

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