AIM: To verify if verbal fluency is impaired in elderly people with depression complaints and which variables are correlated with fluency. CASE REPORT: Patients from the Hospital de ClÃnicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA) aged more than 65 years with depression complaints according to the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) and without a diagnosis of other neurological or psychiatric diseases were included in the study. The study also included a healthy elderly control group. All subjects agreed to participate and provided informed consent. Patients were assessed for Phonological Fluency (PF) and Semantic Fluency (SF). Statistical analysis was performed using the t test, Mann-Whitney U test, Pearson test, and Spearman test (0.05 significance level). Each group included 15 subjects. The healthy elderly group showed SF of 12.50 and PF of 26.00; the depression group showed SF of 10.56 and PF of 17.78. There was a significant difference between the groups in PF (p = 0.040). The PF correlated with education in the healthy group (r = 0.674, p = 0.008). The SF correlated with the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) (r = 0.709, p = 0.004) in the healthy group. CONCLUSION: Elderly patients with depression complaints have impaired performance only in PF, which is related more to executive functions.
