@article {891, title = {Depressive symptoms, vascular disease, and mild cognitive impairment: findings from the Cardiovascular Health Study.}, journal = {Arch Gen Psychiatry}, volume = {63}, year = {2006}, month = {2006 Mar}, pages = {273-9}, abstract = {

CONTEXT: Depressive symptoms are common in patients with dementia and may be associated with increased risk of developing dementia. It has been hypothesized that depressive symptoms and dementia may be attributable to underlying vascular disease in some older persons.

OBJECTIVES: To test the hypotheses (1) that depressive symptoms are associated with increased risk of developing mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a preclinical state that often precedes dementia, and (2) that the association between depressive symptoms and MCI is attributable to underlying vascular disease.

DESIGN: Prospective, population-based, longitudinal study.

SETTING: Random sample of adults 65 years or older recruited from 4 US communities.

PARTICIPANTS: Subjects were 2220 participants in the Cardiovascular Health Study Cognition Study with high cognitive function at baseline. Depressive symptoms were measured at baseline using the 10-item Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale and were classified as none (0-2 points), low (3-7 points), and moderate or high (>/=8 points). Vascular disease measures at baseline included confirmed history of stroke, transient ischemic attack, diabetes mellitus, or hypertension; carotid artery stenosis; ankle-arm blood pressure index; and small or large infarcts or white matter disease on cerebral magnetic resonance imaging. Mild cognitive impairment was diagnosed after 6 years of follow-up based on the consensus of a team of dementia experts using standard clinical criteria.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Diagnosis of MCI.

RESULTS: Depressive symptoms at baseline were associated with increased risk of MCI (10.0\%, 13.3\%, and 19.7\% for those with no, low, and moderate or high depressive symptoms, respectively). This association was diminished only slightly by adjustment for vascular disease measures and demographics. Vascular disease measures also were associated with increased risk of MCI, and these associations were not diminished by adjustment for depressive symptoms or demographics.

CONCLUSION: Depressive symptoms were associated with increased risk of MCI, and this association was independent of underlying vascular disease.

}, keywords = {Aged, Cerebrovascular Disorders, Cognition Disorders, Comorbidity, Dementia, Dementia, Vascular, Depressive Disorder, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Geriatric Assessment, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Prospective Studies, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Risk Factors, Sampling Studies, Vascular Diseases}, issn = {0003-990X}, doi = {10.1001/archpsyc.63.3.273}, author = {Barnes, Deborah E and Alexopoulos, George S and Lopez, Oscar L and Williamson, Jeff D and Yaffe, Kristine} } @article {1118, title = {Depressed mood is not a risk factor for incident dementia in a community-based cohort.}, journal = {Am J Geriatr Psychiatry}, volume = {17}, year = {2009}, month = {2009 Aug}, pages = {653-63}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVES: To determine the relationship between depressed mood and the development of Alzheimer disease in cognitively normal individuals.

DESIGN: Longitudinal and observational.

SETTING: Community-based cohort study.

PARTICIPANTS: A total of 288 participants in the Cardiovascular Health Study-Cognition Study (mean age: 77.52, SD =3.65, range: 70-89). All of the participants were adjudicated as cognitively normal in 1998/1999, and all had at least three visits before 1998/1999 with measures of cognition and mood state. The mean length of follow-up from 1998-1999 to 2007 was 7.1 years (range: 1-9 years, median =9 years).

MEASUREMENTS: The Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (CESD) was used to index mood state, and the Modified Mini-Mental State Examination (3MSE) was the index of cognitive function among participants before 1998/1999. These measures were considered in two ways: participants were classified according to: 1) whether they showed a high-negative correlation between their CESD and 3MSE scores (i.e., indicating that greater depression was linked to poorer cognition) and 2) whether they showed persistently elevated CESD scores. The study outcome, development of dementia (N = 48), was based on consensus classifications, which was based on detailed neuropsychological and neurological exams.

RESULTS: The authors could find no consistent relationship between mood state, either alone or in relation to cognitive status, and the subsequent development of dementia. Those individuals whose cognitive functions were highly correlated with their mood state were no more likely to develop dementia than other participants. Those who had persistently depressed mood were also no more likely to develop dementia than those without persistently depressed mood.

CONCLUSION: Within the confines of this prospective, community-based study of elderly adults, the authors could not find strong evidence to support the hypothesis that mood disturbance was linked with the development of dementia.

}, keywords = {Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Alzheimer Disease, Cognition Disorders, Dementia, Depression, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Humans, Incidence, Longitudinal Studies, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Mental Status Schedule, Prospective Studies, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Residence Characteristics, Risk Factors}, issn = {1545-7214}, author = {Becker, James T and Chang, Yue-Fang and Lopez, Oscar L and Dew, Mary Amanda and Sweet, Robert A and Barnes, Deborah and Yaffe, Kristine and Young, Jeffrey and Kuller, Lewis and Reynolds, Charles F} } @article {6302, title = {Development and validation of a brief dementia screening indicator for primary care.}, journal = {Alzheimers Dement}, volume = {10}, year = {2014}, month = {2014 Nov}, pages = {656-665.e1}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Detection of "any cognitive impairment" is mandated as part of the Medicare annual wellness visit, but screening all patients may result in excessive false positives.

METHODS: We developed and validated a brief Dementia Screening Indicator using data from four large, ongoing cohort studies (the Cardiovascular Health Study [CHS]; the Framingham Heart Study [FHS]; the Health and Retirement Study [HRS]; the Sacramento Area Latino Study on Aging [SALSA]) to help clinicians identify a subgroup of high-risk patients to target for cognitive screening.

RESULTS: The final Dementia Screening Indicator included age (1 point/year; ages, 65-79 years), less than 12~years of education (9 points), stroke (6 points), diabetes mellitus (3 points), body mass index less than 18.5~kg/m(2) (8 points), requiring assistance with money or medications (10 points), and~depressive symptoms (6 points). Accuracy was good across the cohorts (Harrell{\textquoteright}s C statistic: CHS, 0.68; FHS, 0.77; HRS, 0.76; SALSA, 0.78).

CONCLUSIONS: The Dementia Screening Indicator is a simple tool that may be useful in primary care settings to identify high-risk patients to target for cognitive screening.

}, keywords = {Aged, Cohort Studies, Dementia, Female, Humans, Male, Mass Screening, Predictive Value of Tests, Primary Health Care, Proportional Hazards Models, Risk Assessment}, issn = {1552-5279}, doi = {10.1016/j.jalz.2013.11.006}, author = {Barnes, Deborah E and Beiser, Alexa S and Lee, Anne and Langa, Kenneth M and Koyama, Alain and Preis, Sarah R and Neuhaus, John and McCammon, Ryan J and Yaffe, Kristine and Seshadri, Sudha and Haan, Mary N and Weir, David R} } @article {8987, title = {Depressive Symptoms Imputed Across the Life Course Are Associated with Cognitive Impairment and Cognitive Decline.}, journal = {J Alzheimers Dis}, volume = {83}, year = {2021}, month = {2021}, pages = {1379-1389}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Depressive symptoms may increase risk for dementia, but findings are controversial because late-life depression may be a prodromal dementia symptom. Life course data on depression and dementia risk may clarify this association; however, data is limited.

OBJECTIVE: To impute adult depressive symptoms trajectories across adult life stages and estimate the association with cognitive impairment and decline.

METHODS: Using a pooled study of 4 prospective cohorts (ages 20-89), we imputed adult life course depressive symptoms trajectories based on Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale-10 (CESD-10) and calculated time-weighted averages for early adulthood (ages 20-49), mid-life (ages 50-69), and late-life (ages 70-89) for 6,122 older participants. Adjusted pooled logistic and mixed-effects models estimated associations of imputed depressive symptoms with two cognitive outcomes: cognitive impairment defined by established criteria and a composite cognitive score.

RESULTS: In separate models, elevated depressive symptoms in each life stage were associated with cognitive outcomes: early adulthood OR for cognitive impairment = 1.59 (95\%CI: 1.35,1.87); mid-life OR = 1.94 (95\%CI:1.16, 3.26); and late-life OR = 1.77 (95\%CI:1.42, 2.21). When adjusted for depressive symptoms in the other life-stages, elevated depressive symptoms in early adulthood (OR = 1.73; 95\%CI: 1.42,2.11) and late-life (OR = 1.43; 95\%CI: 1.08,1.89) remained associated with cognitive impairment and were also associated with faster rates of cognitive decline (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION: Imputing depressive symptom trajectories from pooled cohorts may help expand data across the life course. Our findings suggest early adulthood depressive symptoms may be a risk factor for cognitive impairment independent of mid- or late-life depressive symptoms.

}, keywords = {Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Aging, Cognitive Dysfunction, Cohort Studies, Dementia, Depression, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Prodromal Symptoms, Risk Factors}, issn = {1875-8908}, doi = {10.3233/JAD-210588}, author = {Brenowitz, Willa D and Zeki Al Hazzouri, Adina and Vittinghoff, Eric and Golden, Sherita H and Fitzpatrick, Annette L and Yaffe, Kristine} }