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This study aimed to characterize the prevalence of depressive symptoms in the sample studied and to analyze the association between depressive symptoms and cognitive functioning of the elderly registered in Family Health Strategy (Estratégia Saúde da Família - ESF) of the city of Porto Alegre (Brazil). 306 elderly were evaluated through: Scale of Geriatric Depression (GDS-15); Test of Verbal Fluency; Boston Naming Test; Logical Memory Test (WMS-R) and List of Words (CERAD Battery). Participants were divided in two groups (G1 and G2), according to absence and presence of depressive symptoms. A prevalence of 29.41% of depressive symptoms was found, with a predominance of women and younger adults. In general, G2, with depressive symptoms, presented a poor performance in all tests when compared to G1. The difference in the intensity of depressive symptoms did not affect the performance in the cognitive tasks. The presence of depressive symptomatology interferes in the cognitive performance of the elderly, leading to a poor performance in tasks of verbal episodic memory and executive functions. Thus, it is important to evaluate the presence of depressive symptoms, along with cognitive aspects in the elderly, in order to adopt preventive measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cognitive reserve may delay impairments in the normal aging process, improving the resilience in cognitive functioning. The main objective of this study was to investigate, through a systematic review, which variables form the cognitive reserve. Furthermore, the association between the cognitive reserve and the cognitive functioning was also verified. Three judges searched for articles in PsycINFO, Pubmed and Scopus databases. The Cochrane recommendations, which offer directions for systematic reviews and meta-analysis, were utilized. Six surveys were gathered following the criteria of inclusion and exclusion. Studies indicate that gender, age, individual’s education, parents’ education, profession, reading activity, social engagement and humor are the main variables of the cognitive reserve. Education was the most assessed variable in the studies, followed by profession. It was concluded that the main cognitive reserve variable is education and that there is a significant correlation with a healthy cognitive maturation in the elderly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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