Immersive Virtual Reality Application for the Evaluation of Depression in Older Adults

Although evidence supports the use of virtual reality for cognitive assessment in the older adult, studies on the assessment of mental disorders such as depression are scarce. Previous studies show satisfactory results in the young adult population, but further analysis is needed in the geriatric population. This research analyzed the ability of a virtual reality application to assess levels of depression in older adults, analyzing the correlation between demographic variables and performance on the application. Fourteen older adults with an age of 74.86 (5.4) participated in the study. Demographic variables, depressive symptoms were evaluated, and Spearman correlation tests were performed to analyze the relationship between age, schooling and performance in the application. The research reveals a significant association between age and task execution time, indicating that the older the age, the longer it takes to complete the task. A correlation is identified between schooling and the number of errors, highlighting that more education does not guarantee the absence of errors. Although no direct correlation was found between level of depression and application performance, the promising utility of virtual reality in this area, supported by recent studies, is underscored. The study contributes to the understanding of how virtual reality applications can be valuable in the assessment of mental health in older adults. Although limitations such as sample size are acknowledged, the results establish a foundation for future research. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2026.