Loneliness in senescence and its relationship with depressive symptoms: an integrative review

• Autor(a) principal: Oliveira,Letícia Menezes de
• Data de Publicação: 2019
• Outros Autores: Abrantes,Gesualdo Gonçalves de, Ribeiro,Gérson da Silva, Cunha,Nilza Maria, Pontes,Maria de Lourdes de Farias, Vasconcelos,Selene Cordeiro
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Revista Brasileira de Geriatria e Gerontologia
• Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1809-98232019000600301
• topic: Aging; Health of the Elderly; Loneliness; Depression

Abstract The increase in life expectancy and the percentage increase in the older population are related to the reduction in quality of life and social life due to the biopsychosocial changes inherent to the aging process. The present study aimed to verify scientific evidence on the relationship between loneliness and depressive symptoms among older adults. An integrative review was carried out using the following databases: SCOPUS, PubMed, Medline, Web of Science, CINAHL and PyscINFO, applying the descriptors indexed in the Mesh Terms and DeCS “aged”, “loneliness”, “depression”. The PICOS strategy was used to prepare the title and guiding question and the PRISMA methodological guidelines were used to write the report of this review. A total of 827 articles were identified, of which 23 were selected, 16 from the database and seven through a reverse search. Loneliness and depression have some characteristics in common, so that when one of these conditions develops in older adults, another is stimulated. Thus, loneliness is a major risk factor for the development of depression, just as depression is an aggravating factor for loneliness in older adults.