• ÖztorunHande SelviHSDepartment of Geriatrics, Ankara City Hospital, Ankara, Turkey., Bilge Gözükara, Remzi Bahşi, Tuğba Turgut, SürmeliDeniz MutDMDepartment of Geriatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey., Çağlar Coşarderelioğlu Seçer, Volkan Atmış, Ahmet Yalçın, Sevgi Aras, and Murat Varlı.
• Department of Geriatrics, Ankara City Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
• Turk J Med Sci. 2022 Jun 1; 52 (3): 715723715-723.

BackgroundDepression is the most common psychiatric problem in older individuals. In some countries, the common approach is to ignore psychiatric disorders. This study aimed to reveal the importance of newly diagnosed high depression scores in the geriatric population admitted to outpatient clinics with somatic complaints.MethodsPatients who did not have a previous diagnosis of a psychiatric disorder and were not receiving treatment were included in the study. A comprehensive geriatric evaluation of 235 elderly patients was performed using established assessment tests. The time and quality of sleep and the Clinical Frailty Scores (CFSs) were documented.ResultsThe mean age of the 235 patients was 73.6 ± 6.39 years, 65.5% (n = 154) were women, and 34.9% (n = 81) had a geriatric depression score ≥ 5. In the higher depression rating scores group, the Lawton-Brody, Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), and Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA-SF) scores were low (p = 0.010, p < 0.001, p = 0.003). Sleep duration was short, and sleep quality was poor (p = 0.042, p = 0.006). The CFSs were high. (p = 0.035) According to the regression analysis results, the MMSE, MNA-SF and CFS predicted higher depression scores significantly (p = 0.048, ß = .892; p = 0.045, ß = .661; p = 0.045, ß = 1.245).DiscussionDepression scores in older people may be associated with not only mood but also the functionality. As with other geriatric syndromes, symptoms in depression may be atypical rather than typical.

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