A – 17 Depression Symptoms Moderate Associations Between Daily Functioning and Neuropsychological Performance in Mexican American Adults

Objective The influence of depression on the relationship between cognition and daily living in aging Mexican American adults requires further investigation, given projected trends in general growth as well as prevalence of depression and Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) in this population. Method In the present study, we examined the extent to which depression symptoms (assessed using the Geriatric Depression Scale – 15 item version [GDS-15]) moderate the association between reported daily functioning and objective neuropsychological performance in aging Mexican American adults in the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center (NACC) cohort (n=294). Results Worse reported daily functioning (higher FAQ scores) was associated with worse memory (p=.01) and language (p.05). Moreover, depression symptoms did not moderate associations of reported daily functioning with performance in executive functioning and processing speed or in attention and working memory (ps>.05). Conclusion The clinical implications of these findings are that Mexican American adults presenting with elevated depression symptoms may have subjective reports of daily functioning that are discrepant from their objective performance on formal tests of memory and language, which could result in misdiagnosis if memory and language tests – and their degree of correspondence to subjective reports of daily functioning – are weighted heavily in the diagnostic decision-making process.