The relationship between psychological dimensions of depressive symptoms and cognitive functioning in the elderly – The MEMO-Study

Aim of this study was to examine the association of symptom dimensions of depressive symptoms and cognitive functioning in the elderly. In a population-based study with 365 participants 65–83 years of age, dimensions of depressive symptoms were assessed with the four subscales of the CES-D-score and standardized cognitive tests assessing attention, memory, cognitive speed, and motor speed were performed. Compared to men, women scored significantly higher on the subscales for depressed affect and somatic complaints. Older participants had a significantly higher score for interpersonal difficulties. Participants with lower education had higher scores on all four psychological dimensions of depressive symptoms than those with high education (only significant for depressive affect). Individuals scoring high on CES-D subscales for depressive affect and somatic complaints had statistically significant (after Bonferroni adjustment) lower scores in attention and motor function in multivariate analyses. No significant associations between the symptom dimensions of positive affect and interpersonal difficulties with any of the cognitive tests were found in univariate and multivariate analyses (after Bonferroni adjustment). Our findings suggest specific patterns in the relationships between symptom dimensions of depressive symptoms and cognitive dysfunction in the general elderly population. This novel approach might be useful in addressing the heterogeneity of cognitive impairment in depression and in predicting cognitive outcome in depression