INTRODUCTION: The process of population aging in Brazil has been fast and intense, increasing the prevalence of chronic diseases and psychological and mental problems, mainly depression, which is associated with functional losses of the aged one. OBJECTIVE: To analyse the association between depressive symptomatology and other indicators of functional capacity, and with mortality after 15 years of follow-up, in an urban cohort of elderly. METHODS: 1667 aged (> 65 years-old) residents in Clementino Village in São Paulo city were studied through a multidimensional evaluation of the functional capacity, as well as the death certificate of the deaths occurred between 1991 (beginning of the study) and April of 2006. In univaried analysis we calculated odds ratio and its significance statistics was evaluated by the reliable interval (95%). The logistic regression was used in the multiple analysis. RESULTS: 21,1% of the elderly were depressed in 1991. In univaried analysis the highest ratios of depressed people were found in the feminine sex, aged older than 80 years-old, illiterates, widowers or bachelors, high level of physical dependence, cognitive deficit, users of more medicines and among those who died in the period of 15 years. In multivaried analysis, controlling by sex and age, physical dependence and the users of more medicines are associated to depression. CONCLUSIONS: The worse levels of disability answer, by an expressive way, to the occurrence of depressive symptomatology between the aged ones.
Depression; functional capacity; elderly; mortality
