DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS IN THE ELDERLY: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW ABOUT THE ROLE OF PHYSICAL EXERCISE

Abstract

Depressive symptoms are having a major impact on the lives of the elderly, reducing the perception of quality of life in this age group. The practice of physical exercise during the aging process is considered a protective factor for general health and the quality of interpersonal relationships. The study seeks to carry out a systematic review of the literature and analyze the effectiveness of exercising as a strategy to help treat elderly people with depressive symptoms. This is a systematic review conducted in accordance with the recommendations of the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyzes (PRISMA). The databases consulted were Pubmed, Scielo, PsycInfo and Scopus, using the search terms "exercise" OR "physical activity", "depressive disorder" OR "depression" and “clinical trial”. Intervention studies with elderly people (aged 60 years or over) who presented depressive symptoms were included. In total, 10,164 articles were identified, resulting in the end of the identification process 17 articles included (with individuals of both sexes). Of these, 14 showed a significant difference, indicating that physical exercise was efficient in reducing depressive symptoms in patients whether or not they used standard therapies (psychotherapy and drug therapy). All researchers adapted the different categories of exercise practiced in the studies (free walking, swimming, strength training) to the weaknesses of elderly people present in institutional or non-institutional contexts. Most studies have shown that physical exercise improves depressive symptoms and can be recommended as an auxiliary treatment to drug and psychotherapeutic therapies in the treatment of depressive symptoms in the elderly.