Asociación entre la depresión y desnutrición en el adulto mayor de un distrito de la serranía central peruana durante la pandemia

Introduction: Depression is a frequent mental health problem in the elderly, being related to malnutrition; and it is known that this mental problem increased during the pandemic. Objectives: To determine the association between depression and malnutrition in the elderly in a district of the central Peruvian highlands during the pandemic. Methodology: Cross-analytical study. 450 adults over 60 years of age, treated during the pandemic at the Pilcomayo health facility, in Huancayo-Peru, were studied. The Mini-Nutritional Assessment test and the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15) were used. Descriptive and analytical statistics were obtained. Results: An important association was found in the final multivariate model, this according to being malnourished with having severe depression (aPR: 3.00; 95% CI: 1.69-5.30; value p<0.001), in addition, there was also more malnutrition among those who were 80-89 years old (aPR: 1.71; 95%CI: 1.04-2.80; value p=0.033), on the contrary, there was less malnutrition among those who performed housework as their main occupation (aPR: 0.58; 95%CI: 0.36-0.96; value p=0.032), adjusted for the level of education and with whom they live. Discussion: One in two elderly people had some degree of depression, which shows the significant impact that this vulnerable population had; that the governing institutions should take into account in order to carry out an in-depth evaluation and generate intervention programs to improve mental health and nutrition. Conclusions: It is concluded that there is an important association between depression and malnutrition in the elderly population. The older there was a greater risk of malnutrition and those who performed household chores were less likely to be malnourished.