Patterns of late-life depressive symptoms and subsequent declines in cognitive domains.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Depression frequently co-occurs with cognitive decline, but the nature of this association is unclear. We examined relations of late-life depressive symptom patterns to subsequent domain-specific cognitive changes.

Methods

Depressive symptoms were measured at up to 3 timepoints among 11,675 Nurses' Health Study participants prior to cognitive testing. Depressive symptom patterns were categorized as non-depressed, variable or persistent, based on published severity cutpoints. Outcomes were global, verbal, and executive function-attention composite scores.

Results

Participants with persistent depressive symptoms had worse executive function-attention decline compared with non-depressed participants (multivariable-adjusted mean difference = -0.03 units/year, 9

SUBMITTER: Gillis JC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5712842 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature