Background:

depression in older adults has been associated with cognitive impairment as a result of the possible negative effects of emotional symptoms on cognition.

Objective:

to determine the impact of depression on the cognitive functioning of older adults who attend grandparents' homes numbers 2 and 3 of the Holguín municipality.

Methods:

from the quantitative approach, a descriptive study was carried out between May 2019 and March 2020. The universe was made up of 50 older adults who attend grandparents' homes numbers 2 and 3 of the Holguín municipality. The sample was selected probabilistically and consisted of 26 older adults. Socio-demographic, depression and cognitive functioning were considered as variables. The semi-structured interview, the mental state mini-test, the Clock Test, the Montreal Cognitive Assessment and the Yesavage scale of geriatric depression were used in the evaluation. The results were processed in the EPIDAT 3.1 and MedCalc packages.

Results:

there were significant differences between the groups in the mental state mini-test and in the Montreal Cognitive Assessment. Participants with depression had significantly lower scores on the cognitive domains of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment.

Conclusions:

depression had a negative influence on the cognitive functioning of older adults. The presence of depression affected the interpretation of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment.

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