(int)& return action

[DaGoblin]

So here is a return line from some function.

 return  (THEINT)& createGaussianFilter(type, *((Size*)ksize), sigma1, sigma2, borderType); }

I understood that when a reference is received as a (int&) in a function it means that when chanced inside the function, the original int will be modifide as well, wherever he is.
When I return something like this (a pointer to a class in this case) what does it mean? What can it possible be a reference to?

Thanks in advance

[mobotus]

I am going to say createGaussianFilter creates some heap allocated variable that we need the address to... that is my best guess