Heterogeneity of late-life depression: relationship with cognitive functioning

Abstract

Heterogeneity in late-life depression may lead to differences in cognitive functioning. Higher severity and having a first depressive episode was associated with worse cognitive performance. Additionally, different domains of cognitive functioning were associated with specific symptom dimensions. Our findings on the use of psychotropic medication suggest that close monitoring on cognitive side effects is needed.

Physical (in)activity and depression in older people

“…Cognitive function is operationalized in four domains based on factor analyses in NESDO data (Korten et al, 2014) and displayed in Z scores. These four domains were interpreted as memory (immediate and delayed recall), processing speed (Stroop cards I and II), interference (interference score of the Stroop), and working memory (digit span forwards and backwards) (Klein et al, 1997).…”

Physical Frailty and Cognitive Functioning in Depressed Older Adults: Findings From the NESDO Study

“…Most likely, the association between executive functioning and physical frailty is lost due to the strong relationship between late-life depression and executive functioning. 12 On the other hand, we found a strong association of physical frailty with decreased verbal memory. Although population-based studies did not find this effect, a closer look at these studies showed that this might be due to a lack of statistical power in some studies.…”

“…From these 3 cognitive tasks, 4 cognitive domain scores were created by means of factor analyses. 12 For all 4 domains, higher scores represent better cognitive functioning. The first domain, verbal memory, comprised the delayed recall task of a modified version of the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test.…”

“…12 Therefore, these variables were included as confounders. In the baseline assessment, detailed information about age, sex, and number of years of education was collected.…”

“…10 Late-life depression is associated with both physical frailty 11 and cognitive impairment. 12 Whereas cognitive impairment in depression has been considered temporarily due to motivational and attentional problems, recent articles stress the persistence of cognitive deficits after remission of depressive symptoms. 13 To our knowledge, the association between physical frailty and cognitive impairment has not been studied among clinically depressed older patients.…”