Prevalence of depressive symptoms and its association with social support among older adults: The Brazilian National Health Survey

Background: The study aimed to assess the association between depressive symptoms and social support measures among non-institutionalized Brazilian older adults.Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out with data from the last National Health Survey, conducted in 2019. A descriptive analysis of the study variables was performed, followed by a multiple regression analysis to teste the association between the dependent variable (depressive symptoms, assessed by the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and independent variables (household arrangement, marital relationship, leisure activ-ities, voluntary activity, religious activity, activities in associations/leaderships, work and receiving social support (friends and family).Results: The sample comprised 22,723 older adults and 13.1 % had depressive symptoms. There was a positive relationship between the number of people in the household and the prevalence of depressive symptoms. In-dividuals with support from family members only (PR 0.69; 95 % CI 0.51; 0.92) and those with support from family and friends (PR 0.53 95 % CI 0.40; 0.70) had a lower prevalence of depressive symptoms than those without support. Participation in leisure and religious activities was inversely associated with depressive symptoms. A negative association was found between work and the presence of depressive symptoms (PR 0.83; 95 % CI 0.70; 0.99). Limitations: The cross-sectional design limits causal inferences and the survey did not include institutionalized individuals.Conclusions: The lower prevalence of the outcome among older adults with social support highlights the importance of evaluating these measures and practicing activities that allow personal and social interactions among this age group.