Abstract
Objective: To investigate whether depressive symptoms predict specific types of cognitive decline in order to elucidate the association between late life depression and cognitive decline. Background: Mechanisms underlying the association between late life depression and cognitive decline are still unclear. Method: Six hundred and forty-one elderly persons of the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (LASA) aged 70-85 were examined by means of two measurement occasions over a period of 3 years. Depressive symptoms were assessed by means of the CES-D. Various cognitive functions were examined using neuropsychological tests. Results: Depressive symptoms were associated with decline in speed of information processing over a 3-year period, whereas there was no association between depression and increasing memory impairment of global mental deterioration. Conclusion: These findings suggest that depressive symptoms are associated with subcortical pathology, most probable white matter lesions.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 361-367 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | International journal of geriatric psychiatry |
| Volume | 16 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2001 |
Keywords
- Cognitive decline
- Depression
- Elderly