Cognitive Complaints, Depressive Symptoms, and Cognitive Impairment: Are They Related?

Objectives To examine whether concurrent depressive symptoms and self‐ and informant‐reported cognitive impairments are related to cognitive complaints. Design Longitudinal aging study of the relationship between depressive symptoms, reported cognitive impairments, and cognitive complaints. Mixed‐ef...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (JAGS) 2011-10, Vol.59 (10), p.1908-1912
Main Authors: Hohman, Timothy J., Beason-Held, Lori L., Resnick, Susan M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Activities of Daily Living - psychology
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Aged
aging
Biological and medical sciences
Cognition & reasoning
cognitive complaints
Cognitive Dysfunction - diagnosis
Cognitive Dysfunction - epidemiology
Cognitive Dysfunction - psychology
Comorbidity
Cross-Sectional Studies
Dementia - diagnosis
Dementia - epidemiology
Dementia - psychology
Depression
Depressive Disorder - diagnosis
Depressive Disorder - epidemiology
Depressive Disorder - psychology
Diagnosis, Differential
Female
Follow-Up Studies
General aspects
Health Surveys
Humans
Male
Maryland
Medical sciences
Mental depression
Middle Aged
Miscellaneous
Mood disorders
Older people
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Public health. Hygiene
Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine
Risk Factors
Surveys and Questionnaires
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Summary:Objectives To examine whether concurrent depressive symptoms and self‐ and informant‐reported cognitive impairments are related to cognitive complaints. Design Longitudinal aging study of the relationship between depressive symptoms, reported cognitive impairments, and cognitive complaints. Mixed‐effects regression models were used to determine whether scores on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES‐D) and Clinical Dementia Rating Scale (CDR) predicted cognitive complaints. The Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ) assessed cognitive complaints. Setting A community‐dwelling sample in Baltimore, Maryland. Participants One hundred five cognitively normal older individuals with a mean baseline age of 75 followed for an average of 4 years. Measurements The CES‐D measured depressive symptoms. The CDR Sum of Boxes (CDR‐SB) measured self‐ and informant‐reported impairment, and the CFQ measured cognitive complaints. Results Greater depressive symptoms and reported impairments are associated with higher CFQ scores. In addition, there was a significant interaction between depressive symptoms and reported impairment. Specifically, individuals without reported cognitive impairment had the strongest association between depressive symptoms and cognitive complaints. Finally, reported impairments interact with baseline age, suggesting that the relationship between reported impairments and cognitive complaints is strongest in individuals younger than 80. Conclusion These findings confirm a relationship between reported cognitive impairment and cognitive complaints in older individuals and highlight the extent to which age and depressive symptoms account for variation in complaints. These factors should be considered when interpreting cognitive complaints in a clinical setting.
ISSN:0002-8614
1532-5415
1532-5415
DOI:10.1111/j.1532-5415.2011.03589.x