The association between depressive symptoms and cognitive decline in community-dwelling elderly persons

Objective To investigate whether depressive symptoms predict specific types of cognitive decline in order to elucidate the association between late li fe depression and cognitive decline. Background Mechanisms underlying the a ssociation between late life depression and cognitive decline are still unc lear. Method Six hundred and forty-one elderly persons of the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (LASA) aged 70-85 were examined by means of two measu rement occasions over a period of 3 years. Depressive symptoms were assesse d by means of the CES-D. Various cognitive functions were examined using ne uropsychological tests. Results Depressive symptoms were associated with de cline in speed of information processing over a 3-year period, whereas ther e was no association between depression and increasing memory impairment or global mental deterioration. Conclusion These findings suggest that depres sive symptoms are associated with subcortical pathology, most probable whit e matter lesions. Copyright (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.