Factors associated with depressive symptoms and suicide risk in the elderly in primary health care
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36517/2175-6783.20262796904Keywords:
Depression; Suicide; Health of the Elderly; Primary Health Care.Abstract
Objective: to analyze the factors associated with depressive symptoms and the risk of suicide in elderly people assisted in primary health care. Methods: cross-sectional study conducted with 298 elderly individuals attended by urban teams of the Family Health Strategy. Sociodemographic and health questionnaires, the Geriatric Depression Scale, and the Nurses’ Global Assessment of Suicide Risk instrument were used, administered thru interviews. The associations were analyzed using Pearson’s Chi-square test, Fisher’s Exact test, and Poisson Regression. Results: the prevalence of depressive symptoms was 30.2%, with the majority of the elderly presenting a low risk of suicide. Depressive symptoms were associated with widowhood, the diagnosis of diabetes mellitus, the presence of comorbidities, and the continuous use of medications. The risk of suicide was associated with being single, living alone, having a caregiver, having glaucoma, presenting depressive symptoms, and using psychotropic drugs. Conclusion: An association was observed between socio-clinical vulnerabilities, depressive symptoms, and suicide risk in the elderly population. Contributions to practice: the findings emphasize the need to qualify primary care professionals for the early screening of vulnerabilities.
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The authors declare that the complete dataset supporting the results is available within the article and is not subject to access restrictions.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Francisco Gauniê de Sousa Pessôa, Jaqueline Carvalho e Silva Sales, Agnelo Pereira da Silva Junior, Angélica Martins de Souza Gonçalves, Fernando José Guedes da Silva Júnior, Chrystiany Plácido de Brito Vieira, Roberta dos Santos Avelino
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