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Association of depressive symptoms with decline of cognitive function—Rugao longevity and ageing study

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Abstract

Cognitive decline is a central feature in the aging process. Previous studies have indicated an association between depressive symptoms and cognitive decline in Caucasian populations. However, few studies have examined the effect of changes in depression on the trajectory of cognitive decline. Here, we included 580 participants with normal cognitive ability and complete cognitive and depression data from the Rugao Longevity and Ageing Study (RuLAS). We explored the relationship between depressive symptoms and cognitive decline in these participants. We examined how the change in depressive symptoms affected the trajectory in the HDS-R (the Revised Hasegawa Dementia Scale) scores by comparing cognition function in both the depression deterioration group and the depression steady group by using a linear mixed model. The results indicated that those with deteriorating depression tended to have faster cognitive declines than those with steady depression, indicated by the significance of the interaction term of GDS (Geriatric Depression Scale) groups and time (unadjusted model, β = − 0.673, p < 0.001). The results remained significant after adding demographic covariates. Moreover, we found that those with the worst depressive symptoms at baseline had the worst cognition in subsequent years (GDS = 0 group vs. GDS ≥ group in the unadjusted model: β = − 1.522, p < 0.003), while the slope of change was not significantly different among groups (GDS = 0 group × time vs. GDS > =4 group × time in the unadjusted model: β = − 0.045, p = 0.857). Therefore, we found that depressive symptom deterioration was significantly associated with faster cognitive decline. Medical interventions for depression may decrease the number of older Chinese individuals who experience early-stage cognitive decline.

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Abbreviations

GDS:

Geriatric Depression Scale

HDS-R:

Revised Hasegawa Dementia Scale

MCI:

Mild cognitive impairment

BMI:

Body mass index

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Acknowledgments

We acknowledge all participants involved in the study.

Funding

This work was financially supported by grants from the National Key R&D Program of China (2018YFC2000400), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31521003), and Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Major Project (2017SHZDZX01).

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Author notes

  1. Zhuoran Hou and Xiaofeng Wang contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Contemporary Anthropology, Collaborative Innovation Center for Genetics and Development, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China

    Zhuoran Hou, Xiaofeng Wang & Yuchen Wang

  2. Human Phenome Institute, Fudan University, Shanghai, China

    Zhuoran Hou & Jiucun Wang

  3. State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China

    Jiucun Wang

  4. Division of Biostatistics, School of Medicine, New York University, New York City, USA

    Judy Zhong

Authors
  1. Zhuoran Hou
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  2. Xiaofeng Wang
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  3. Yuchen Wang
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  4. Jiucun Wang
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  5. Judy Zhong
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Jiucun Wang or Judy Zhong.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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The Human Ethics Committee of the School of Life Sciences of Fudan University, Shanghai, China, approved this study. Written consent was obtained from all participants prior to the study.

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Hou, Z., Wang, X., Wang, Y. et al. Association of depressive symptoms with decline of cognitive function—Rugao longevity and ageing study. Neurol Sci 41, 1873–1879 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-020-04279-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-020-04279-8

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