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Relationship Between Depressive Symptoms and Cognition in Older, Non-demented African Americans

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 May 2014

Jamie L. Hamilton
Affiliation:
Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, New York Department of Psychiatry, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, New York
Adam M. Brickman
Affiliation:
Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, New York G.H. Sergievsky Center, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, New York Department of Neurology, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, New York
Rosalyn Lang
Affiliation:
North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Department of Biology, Greensboro, North Carolina
Goldie S. Byrd
Affiliation:
North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Dean, College of Arts and Sciences, Greensboro, North Carolina
Jonathan L. Haines
Affiliation:
Center for Human Genetics Research, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee
Margaret A. Pericak-Vance
Affiliation:
John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, Florida
Jennifer J. Manly*
Affiliation:
Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, New York G.H. Sergievsky Center, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, New York Department of Neurology, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, New York
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to: Jennifer Manly, Columbia University, Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease, and the Aging Brain, College of Physicians and Surgeons, PH Building, Suite 19-321, 630 W 168th Street, New York, NY 10032. E-mail: jjm71@columbia.edu

Abstract

Knowledge of the relationship between depressive symptoms and cognition in older adults has primarily come from studies of clinically depressed, functionally impaired or cognitively impaired individuals, and in predominately White samples. Limited minority representation in depression research exposes the need to examine these associations in more ethnic/racially diverse populations. We sought to examine the relationship between depressive symptoms and cognition in a sample of non-demented older African Americans recruited from surrounding U.S. cities of New York, Greensboro, Miami, and Nashville (N=944). Depressive symptoms were evaluated with the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). Cognition was evaluated with a comprehensive neuropsychological battery. Test scores were summarized into attention, executive function, memory, language, and processing speed composites. Controlling for age, education, reading level, and sex, African American older adults who endorsed more symptoms obtained significantly lower scores on measures of memory, language, processing speed, and executive functioning. Further investigation of the causal pathway underlying this association, as well as potential mediators of the relationship between depressive symptoms and cognitive test performance among older African Americans, such as cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease, may offer potential avenues for intervention. (JINS, 2014, 20, 1–8)

Type
Brief Communication
Copyright
Copyright © The International Neuropsychological Society 2014 

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