OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the general and specific motor aptitude and attention in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). METHODS: Sixteen women admitted in a psychiatric hospital answered to a clinic and socio-demographic interview. For the evaluation it was used the Motor Scale for the Elderly (Escala Motora para Terceira Idade - EMTI) and the Trail Making Test (TMT). RESULTS: The average age of women was 38,63 years old, and the first diagnostic was made on average of 32,81 years old; they also have a low family income. At the general motor aptitude, 56,25% of the patients were classified as "below average", 37,5% as "normal medium" and 6,25% as "normal low". The variables global motricity and the temporal organization were classified as "inferior". The sample showed they need a higher time to execute the tests compared to reference values and also their performance is worse as their age increased. CONCLUSIONS: In most patients, the general motor aptitude, the global motricity and the temporal organization were considered below average. It were also detected some dysfunctional problems, the influence of age on the level of attention and the negative relationship between the level of attention and the motor performance: the higher the time to make the Trail Making Test, the worse is the performance in Motor Scale for the Elderly.
Major depressive disorder; psychomotor performance; motor activity; attention
