Depressive symptoms and cognitive performance in older adults

Many longitudinal studies have found that older adults with depressive symptoms or depression have increased risk of cognitive impairment. We investigated the relationships between depressive symptoms or depression, cognitive function, serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and volumetric MRI measurements in older adults. A total of 4352 individuals aged 65 years or older (mean age 72 years) participated in the study. We investigated medical history and geriatric depression scale-15 (GDS-15) items to determine depression and depressive symptoms. Cognitive tests included the mini-mental state examination (MMSE), story memory, word list memory, trail-making tests, and the symbol digit substitution task. Of the 4352 participants, 570 (13%) fulfilled the criteria for depressive symptoms (GDS-15: 6 + points) and 87 (2%) were diagnosed with depression. All cognitive tests showed significant differences between the 'no depressive symptoms', 'depressive symptoms', and 'depression' groups. The 'depressive symptoms' and 'depression' groups showed lower serum BDNF (p < 0.001) concentrations than the 'no depressive symptoms' group. The 'depressive symptoms' group exhibited greater atrophy of the right medial temporal lobe than did the 'no depressive symptoms' group (p = 0.023). These results suggest that memory, executive function, and processing speed examinations are useful to identify cognitive decline in older adults who have depressive symptoms and depression. Serum BDNF concentration and atrophy of the right medial temporal lobe may in part mediate the relationships between depressive symptoms and cognitive decline.