Asociación entre cognición y depresión en adultos mayores panameños con cognición normal y deterioro cognitivo leve

Abstract

Depression and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in elderly adults are associated with the development of different types of dementia and the reduction of functionality. The following is a descriptive study analyzing a transversal sample of 73 Panamanian elderly adults of 65 or more years of the Panama Aging Research Initiative (PARI) cohort. We measured health status and functionality in activities of daily living. Cognitive function was measured with neuropsychological tests. Scores were combined in six cognitive domains: global cognition, memory, language, visuospatial abilities, attention and executive function. To measure symptoms of depression, the 30-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-30) was used. A covariance analysis (ANCOVA) was performed between participants with and without possible depression on both groups of normal cognition (CN) and MCI, to measure cognitive performance. Participants in the group with possible depression and MCI, showed to have lower scores on global cognition that the other groups. Two linear regression analysis were performed for each group. In the group of normal cognition, education was the significant predictive factor on cognitive performance, while in the MCI group other factors like age, education, depression and body mass index were related to lower cognitive performance. In the MCI group depression predicted lower performance in executive functions and attention. These results could aid in the development of public health politics directed to elderly adults, and the efforts made in prevention and intervention, focused on minimizing disability and its mediators.