BACKGROUND: Hip fracture has a high prevalence, especially among older women. Depression is common among females and data have suggested the existence of an association between depression and risk of hip fracture. However, we could not find Brazilian studies focusing specifically this issue. OBJECTIVES: To investigate, in elderly women, the prevalence of major depressive episode previously to the hip fracture and compare with the prevalence of depression in a control group. METHODS: We evaluated 65 elderly women, 30 with hip fracture and 35 without a hip fracture. To evaluate the depression we used the Structured Clinical interview for DSM-IV (SCID) and the 31-item version of the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D-31), and to evaluate the cognitive state we used the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE). RESULTS: Patients with hip fracture showed a trend for increased prevalence of previous major depressive episode (p = 0.08) and lower scores on the MMSE. DISCUSSION: In this preliminary study we found a trend for increased prevalence of depression in elderly women with hip fracture. Multicenter studies are warranted to investigate this possible association in the Brazilian population.
Hip fracture; depression; elderly women
