Does education moderate neuropsychological impairment in late‐life depression?

OBJECTIVE: The increased resistance of better-educated individuals to the cognitive effects of neuropathology has been conceptualized as reflecting brain reserve. This study examined whether educational level influences the degree of neuropsychological impairment associated with late-life depression. METHODS: The neuropsychological performances of 115 older depressed patients and of 44 comparison subjects of similar age and education were compared as a function of educational level. RESULTS: While depressed patients performed worse than comparison subjects on all the measures, the severity of this impairment (with respect to comparison subjects) did not differ with the educational level of the patients. CONCLUSIONS: Brain reserve, as indexed by the patients' level of education, does not mitigate the cognitive decrements associated with late-life depression.