Depression and cognition: how do they interrelate in old age? (original) (raw)
Related papers
Aging Clinical and Experimental Research, 2004
Background and aims: Some prospective studies show that depression is a risk factor for cognitive decline. So far, the explanation for the background of this association has remained unclear. The present study investigated 1) whether depression is etiologically linked to cognitive decline; 2) whether depression and cognitive decline may be the consequence of the same underlying subcortical pathology, or 3) whether depression is a reaction to global cognitive deterioration. Methods: A cohort of 133 depressed and 144 non-depressed older persons was followed at eight successive observations over 3 years. All subjects were participants in the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (LASA). Depression symptoms were measured by means of the CES-D at eight successive waves. Cognitive function (memory function, information processing speed, global cognitive functioning) was assessed at baseline and at the last CES-D measurement. Results: The severity and duration of depressive symptoms were not associated with subsequent decline in memory functioning or global cognitive decline. There was an association between both chronic mild depression and chronic depression, and decline in speed of information processing. Conclusions: These results support the hypothesis that, in older persons, chronic depression as well as cognitive decline may be the consequence of the same underlying subcortical pathology.
BMJ, 2004
Objective To examine the temporal relation between depression and cognitive impairment in old age. Design Prospective, population based study with four years of follow up. Setting City of Leiden, the Netherlands. Participants 500 people aged 85 years at recruitment. Main outcome measures Annual assessments of depressive symptoms (15 item geriatric depression scale), global cognitive function (mini-mental state examination), attention (Stroop test), processing speed (letter digit coding test), and immediate and delayed recall (12 word learning test). Results At 85 years old, participants' depressive symptoms and cognitive impairment were highly significantly correlated (P < 0.001). During follow up, an accelerated annual increase of depressive symptoms was associated with impaired attention (0.08 points (95% confidence interval 0.01 to 0.16)), immediate recall (0.17 points (0.09 to 0.25)), and delayed recall (0.10 points (0.02 to 0.18)) at baseline. In contrast, depressive symptoms at baseline were not related to an accelerated cognitive decline during follow up (P > 0.05). Conclusion Caregivers should be aware of the development of depressive symptoms when cognitive impairment is present. However, the presence of depression only does not increase the risk of cognitive decline.
Journal of affective disorders, 2016
Depression often co-occurs in late-life in the context of declining cognitive functions, but it is not clear whether specific depression symptom dimensions are differentially associated with cognitive abilities. The study sample comprised 3107 community-dwelling older adults from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (LASA). We applied a Multiple Indicators Multiple Causes (MIMIC) model to examine the association between cognitive abilities and latent dimensions of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), while accounting for differential item functioning (DIF) due to age, gender and cognitive function levels. A factor structure consisting of somatic symptoms, positive affect, depressed affect, and interpersonal difficulties fitted the data well. Higher levels of inductive reasoning were significantly associated with lower levels of depressed affect and somatic symptoms, whereas faster processing speed was significantly associated with lower levels of somatic ...
The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 2014
Objective: To evaluate the temporal association between depression symptoms and cognitive function in older adults over a 4-year period. Methods: Using a longitudinal, cross-lagged, population-based design, we studied depression symptoms and cognitive domains (including processing speed, verbal fluency, face and word recognition, episodic memory, and simple and choice reaction time) in 896 community-dwelling adults aged 70e97 years. Results: Cross-lagged structural equation models suggested that initial depression symptoms affected subsequent processing speed and simple and choice reaction time but that cognition did not predict depression symptoms over time. The associations between depression and cognitive variables were attenuated when the models were adjusted for sensory impairment, physical health, and locus of control. Conclusion: The findings suggest that, causally, depression precedes cognitive impairment in this age group and that the association is related to physical health and perceptions of a lack of control. (Am J Geriatr Psychiatry 2014; -:-e-)
Psychological medicine, 2012
Cross-sectional surveys of older people commonly find associations between higher levels of depressive symptoms and poorer cognitive performance, but the direction of effect is unclear. We examined whether there was a bidirectional relationship between depressive symptoms and general cognitive ability in non-demented older people, and explored the role of physical health, smoking, exercise, social class and education as potential confounders of this association and as possible determinants of the rate of change of cognitive decline and depressive symptoms. The English Longitudinal Study of Ageing consists of people aged 50 years and over. Cognitive function and self-reported depressive symptoms were measured in 2002-2003, 2004-2005, 2006-2007 and 2008-2009. We fitted linear piecewise models with fixed knot positions to allow different slopes for different age groups. Analyses are based on 8611 people. Mean cognitive function declined with age; there was no trend in the trajectory of...
Psychological Medicine, 2016
BackgroundCognitive impairment and depression often co-occur in older adults, but it is not clear whether depression is a risk factor for cognitive decline, a psychological reaction to cognitive decline, or whether changes in depressive symptoms correlate with changes in cognitive performance over time. The co-morbid manifestation of depression and cognitive impairment may reflect either a causal effect or a common cause, depending on the specific symptoms experienced and the cognitive functions affected.MethodThe study sample comprised 1506 community-dwelling older adults aged ⩾65 years from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (LASA). We conducted cross-domain latent growth curve analyses to examine longitudinal associations between late-life depression dimensions (i.e. depressed affect, positive affect, and somatic symptoms) and specific domains of cognitive functioning (i.e. processing speed, inductive reasoning, immediate recall, and delayed recall).ResultsPoorer delayed reca...
Investigating the relationship between age of onset of depressive disorder and cognitive function
International journal of geriatric psychiatry, 2018
Depressive disorder is commonly associated with impaired cognitive function; however, it is unclear whether the age of onset of the first episode of depression, current depression severity, or historical severity of depressive episodes are associated with cognitive performance. This study examined baseline cross-sectional data from the ongoing online PROTECT study. A total of 7344 participants, 50 years or older, with a history of depression and no diagnosis of dementia were divided into three groups according to age of onset of their first depressive episode: early-onset, midlife-onset, and late-onset. Performance on measures of visuospatial episodic memory, executive function, verbal working, and visual working memory were evaluated. Demographic and clinical characteristics such as age, education, and severity of symptoms during their worst previous depressive episode and current depression severity were included in multivariate regression models. The late-onset depression group s...
Depressive Symptoms and Longitudinal Changes in Cognition
Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neurology, 2014
Elevated depressive symptoms (DS) are associated with incident mild cognitive impairment and probable dementia in postmenopausal women. We examined the association of elevated DS with domain-specific cognitive changes and the moderating role of cardiovascular risk factor severity and cardiovascular disease (CVD). A total of 2221 elderly women who participated in the Women’s Health Initiative Study of Cognitive Aging were separated into those with (N = 204) and without (N = 2017) elevated DS. The DS and multidomain cognitive outcomes were measured annually for an average follow-up of 5.04 years. Women with elevated DS showed baseline multidomain cognitive deficits but longitudinal declines in global cognition only. Persistent DS was related to greater global cognition, verbal knowledge and fluency, and memory declines. Significant DS-CVD interactions were observed cross-sectionally (but not longitudinally) for figural memory and fine motor speed. Future studies should investigate the...
Depressive symptoms as a predictor of cognitive decline: MacArthur Studies of Successful Aging
The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, 2007
The prevalence of dementia continues to rise, and yet, there are few known modifiable risk factors. Depression, as a treatable condition, may be important in the development of dementia. Our objective was to examine the association between depressive symptoms and longitudinal cognitive changes in older adults who were high-functioning at baseline. The authors analyzed data from a community-based cohort (aged 70-79 at baseline), who, at study entry, scored 7 or more (out of 9) on the Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire (SPMSQ). Depressive symptoms were assessed at baseline using the depression subscale of the Hopkins Symptom Check List. Cognitive performance was measured at baseline and at seven-year follow up by the SPMSQ and by summary scores from standard tests of naming, construction, spatial recognition, abstraction, and delayed recall. After adjusting for potential confounders, including age, education, and chronic health conditions such as diabetes, heart attack, stroke...