This study aimed to find cut-off scores for the Montgomery-Asberg rating scale (MADRS) and the Beck depression inventory (BDI) that can relate to specific clinical diagnoses of depression in Parkinson s disease (PD). Mild and moderate PD patients (n=46) were evaluated for depression according to the DSM IV criteria. All patients were assessed with the MADRS and the BDI. A "receiver operating characteristics" (ROC) curve was obtained and the sensibility, specificity, positive and the negative predictive values were calculated for different cut-off scores of the MADRS and the BDI. The Kappa statistic was calculated for different cut-off scores to assess the agreement between the clinical judgment and both scales. Depression was present in 18 patients. MADRS cut-off scores of 6 and 10 showed Kappa 0.5 and 0.56, respectively. Specificity of cut-off score of 6 was 78.6% and of cut-off score of 10 was 96.4%. Kappa agreement of BDI cut-off scores of 10 and 18 were 0.36 and 0.62, respectively. Specificity was 60.7% for 10 and 92.9% for 18. Both rating scales show similar accuracy within the ROC curves (84.3% for MADRS and 79.7% for BDI). The MADRS and the BDI show a good accuracy and correlation to the clinical diagnosis when a cut-off score of 10 is used to MADRS and a cut-off score of 18 is used to BDI to recognize depression in mild to moderate PD patients. This may help clinicians to recognize depression in PD.

OBJETIVOS: Esta revisão tem dois objetivos. 1. Examinar o impacto da depressão sobre a cognição na Doença de Parkinson (DP). 2. Examinar o papel da depressão como fator de risco tanto para DP como para transtorno cognitivo na DP. METODOLOGIA: Revisão na literatura internacional, Medline, de artigos clínicos seccionais, prospectivos e de caso controle, avaliando a função cognitiva de parkinsonianos com e sem depressão, entre 1967 e 2003. Palavras-chave Doença de Parkinson, Depressão e cognição. RESULTADOS: Os trabalhos sobre o impacto da depressão na cognição de parkinsonianos apresentam afirmações divergentes. Cinco artigos concluem que há impacto e quatro não confirmam esses dados. Pode-se afirmar que a depressão é um fator de risco para DP, assim como a DP é um fator de risco para depressão. No entanto, nenhuma definição foi possível no que se refere à depressão como fator de risco para transtornos cognitivos em parkinsonianos. Observa-se que os dados sobre a prevalência de depressão e déficit cognitivo na DP são inconclusivos, com grande margem percentual entre os autores. A depressão em parkinsonianos está associada com avanço da gravidade da DP, estágio avançado de Hoehn e Yahr, alta pontuação na Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), ocorrência de quedas, baixa pontuação no Mini Exame do Estado Mental (MEEM) e na Escala Schwab e England, déficit cognitivo, bradicinesia axial, alterações na marcha e no balanço, idade mais avançada, sexo feminino e presença de alteração do pensamento. CONCLUSÃO: A interação entre depressão e DP é complexa e bidirecional. A depressão é um fator de risco para DP, assim como DP é um fator de risco para depressão. É possível se traçar um perfil mais homogêneo do paciente deprimido com DP que evolui com transtorno cognitivo, mas não foi possível definir a depressão como um fator de risco para transtornos cognitivos na DP. Estudos que utilizem critérios diagnósticos definidos e com amostras representativas da população podem trazer esclarecimento sobre o assunto.

Since the number and proportion of old people increases worldwide, health professionals and systems should be made aware and prepared to deal with their problems. Cognitive deficit and symptoms of depression are commom among the elderly, and may occur in relation to various risk factors such as health conditions and psychosocial variables. In order to study cognitive deficit and the presence of signs and symptoms of depression, 62 elderly community subjects enrolled at a Community Health Unit in Porto Alegre, southern Brazil, were interviewed. They were evaluated by means of the Mini Mental State Exam, the Montgomery-Asberg Depression rating scale, and a questionnaire on health conditions, living arrangements and social variables. Higher levels of symptoms of depression were observed among subjects exposed to major risk factors for cerebrovascular diseases (diabetes and coronary disease), while impaired cognitive performance was seen among individuals who could not count on the presence of a confidant (social network variable). The results suggest that the early identification of major risk groups among old people can help to prevent institutionalization and keep individuals in the community.Depression, epidemiology. Cognitive disorders, epidemiology. Aged.

The aging of the population leads to an increase in the prevalence of dementia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia. Recent studies highlight the early non-amnestic deficits in AD and MCI. The European Union report shows the importance of thoroughly assessing cognitive aspects that have been poorly evaluated, such as processing speed (PS), which could represent early indicators of cognitive decline. Objective: To analyze the diagnostic accuracy of PS measures in older adults with MCI, AD, and those who are cognitively-healthy. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted by performing an extensive neuropsychological assessment in three samples: 26 control participants, 22 individuals with MCI, and 21 individuals with AD. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was employed to test the relationship between dependent variables and the clinical group. Post hoc tests (Bonferroni test) were used when a significant ANOVA result was found. Finally, the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve for PS measures was performed in older adults with MCI and AD compared with cognitively-healthy older adults. Results: The results showed that deficits in PS measures can be early indicators of cognitive decline in cases of MCI, even when executive functions (EFs) and functionality are preserved. Conversely, AD versus MCI presented differences in PS, EFs, and functionality. Conclusions: The ROC analyses showed that PS measures had discriminative capacities to differentiate individuals with MCI, AD, and cognitively-healthy older adults.

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