[Cognitive changes update among elderly with depressive syndrome].
OBJECTIVE
Depression and cognitive deficits are amongst the main mental health problems in the elderly. Frequently both conditions happen together and cause serious consequences like reduction in the quality of life, functional deficits, increase in the use of health services, and increase in morbidity and mortality. Recognizing the main cognitive alterations caused by depression syndrome is very important to confirm the diagnosis, plan the treatment, and establish parameters about the prognostic of these patients. The goal of this article is to review the studies published over the last years about cognitive alterations in the elderly diagnosed with depression.


METHODS
In order to do so, relevant studies over the period of 1991 through 2005 were selected using Medline.


CONCLUSIONS
These studies' results point out to cognitive deficits that go beyond memory deficits, and which are relevant both to the differential diagnosis between depression and dementia, as well as depression and normal aging, and to monitor more closely those patients who have increased risk of converting to dementia in the future.
Avila
Renata
R
Departamento de Psiquiatria, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil. avilarenata@uol.com.br
Bottino
Cássio Machado de Campos
CM
D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013577:Syndrome