Correlation Study Of Depressive Syndrome And Cognitive Impairment In The Elderly

Objective:The aim of this study was to measure the association between depressive syndrome and cognitive function in an elderly population in Southwest China, to evaluate whether depressive symptoms increase the risk of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and to summarize the prevalence of depressive symptoms in MCI patients.Measurement:The clinical data were collected via a comprehensive geriatric assessment.The depressive symptoms were assessed using the 30-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), and the global cognitive function was assessed by the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). The MCI was further diagnosed based on the cognitive status.Results:A total of 547 individuals over 60 years of age were enlisted from hospitals and the community for the cross-sectional study. The prevalence of depressive symptoms was higher in the patients with MCI than in the individuals with normal cognition (38.51% vs.19.30%, P<0.05). A similar prevalence of depression was found in the individuals with MCI in the hospital-based samples and in the community-based samples (38.46% vs.38.53%, P>0.05). Depression, age and education were associated with MCI by the univariate analysis. After adjusting for age and education level, depression increased the risk for MCI (OR= 1.998,95% CI=1.278 to 3.123, P<0.05).Conclusion:Depression is associated with cognitive function in the elderly and maybe increase the risk of MCI.