The influence of somatic symptoms on the performance of elders in the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI).
BACKGROUND
The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) has been widely used to assess the prevalence of depressive symptomatology in clinical and non-clinical samples. On elders, however, the Beck Depression Inventory total score can be influenced by the increased scores on somatic and performance subscale due to the impact of ageing process itself and clinical diseases.


OBJECTIVE
To verify if there are differences between answers of adults and elders for the BDI Somatic and Performance subscale.


METHODS
Five hundred and fifty six subjects were interviewed. Two hundred and seventeen were adults (between 18 and 59 years old) and 339 were elders (> or = 60 years). Adults and elders with terminal diseases or dementia were excluded. The convenience sampling method was used.


RESULTS
Elders answered significantly with higher scores in the Somatic and Performance subscale compared to adults (p < 0.001). Female gender and educational level were also associated to higher scores in the Somatic subscale. No differences between both age groups were found in the Cognitive-Affective subscale (p = 0.332).


CONCLUSIONS
Positive answers in the BDI Somatic and Performance subscale must be carefully assessed among elder subjects. The age factor, either by aging or due to several diseases, can bring signs that are not necessarily symptoms of major depression. Further studies are suggested.
Trentini
Clarissa Marceli
CM
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil. clarissatrentini@aol.com
Xavier
Flávio Merino de Freitas
FM
Chachamovich
Eduardo
E
Rocha
Neusa Sica da
NS
Hirakata
Vânia N
VN
Fleck
Marcelo Pio de Almeida
MP
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D017533:Marital Status; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000523:psychology*