A 1-point reduction in depressive symptoms two years prior to assessing cognitive function resulted in an average improvement in cognitive function of 0.12 points.
Cohort (n=3,050)
Do depressive symptoms cause cognitive decline in elderly Mexican Americans?
Higher levels of depressive symptoms are causally associated with subsequent cognitive decline in elderly Mexican Americans, suggesting early intervention may mitigate cognitive impairment.
Mean Difference: 0.12 (95% CI 0.06–0.18)
p-value: p=<.0001
Objective: the association between depressive symptoms (Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale CES-D) and subsequent cognitive function (Mini-Mental State Examination MMSE) is equivocal in literature. To examine the causal relationship between them, we use longitudinal data on MMSE and CESD and causal inference to illustrate the relationship between two health outcomes. Method: Data were obtained from the Hispanic Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly. Participants included 3050 noninstitutionalized Mexican Americans aged 65 and older followed from 1993-2001. Cognitive function and depressive symptoms were assessed using the MMSE and CESD at baseline and at 2, 5, and 7 years of follow-up. Independent variables were sociodemographics, CESD, medical conditions. Marginal structural causal models were employed to evaluate the extent to which cognitive function depend not only on depressive symptoms measured at a single point in time but also on an individual’s entire depressive symptoms history. Discussion: our results indicate that if intervention to reduce 1 points of depressive symptoms were made at two years prior to assessing cognitive function, they would result in average improvement in cognitive function of 0.12, 95% CI 0.06, 0.18,P<.0001. Conclusion: The results suggest that health intervention of depressive symptoms would be useful in prevention of cognitive impair.
Yao et al. (Fri,) conducted a cohort in Cognitive decline and depressive symptoms (n=3,050). Depressive symptoms (CES-D score) vs. Lower depressive symptoms was evaluated on Cognitive function (MMSE score) (MD 0.12, 95% CI 0.06, 0.18, p=<.0001). A 1-point reduction in depressive symptoms two years prior to assessing cognitive function resulted in an average improvement in cognitive function of 0.12 points.
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