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The Influence of Depression on Processing Speed and Executive Function in Nondemented Subjects Aged 75

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 August 2011

Susanne Jungwirth ,
Sonja Zehetmayer ,
Margareta Hinterberger ,
Stephan Kudrnovsky-Moser ,
Silvia Weissgram ,
Karl Heinz Tragl  and
Peter Fischer
Susanne Jungwirth*
Affiliation:
Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Aging Research, Vienna, Austria
Sonja Zehetmayer
Affiliation:
Section for Medical Statistics, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
Margareta Hinterberger
Affiliation:
Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Aging Research, Vienna, Austria
Stephan Kudrnovsky-Moser
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Danube Hospital, Vienna, Austria
Silvia Weissgram
Affiliation:
Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Aging Research, Vienna, Austria
Karl Heinz Tragl
Affiliation:
Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Aging Research, Vienna, Austria
Peter Fischer
Affiliation:
Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Aging Research, Vienna, Austria Department of Psychiatry, Danube Hospital, Vienna, Austria
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to: Susanne Jungwirth, Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Aging Research, Langobardenstraße122, 1220 Vienna, Austria. E-mail: susanne.jungwirth@wienkav.at
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Abstract

Neuropsychological deficits are commonly found to be part of depression in old age and might simultaneously represent early symptoms of dementia. We investigated the influence of depression on processing speed and executive function in subjects who did not develop dementia during the following 5 years to examine whether these neuropsychological dysfunctions are due to depression or are influenced by other causes (e.g., education, cerebral comorbidity). A total of 287 subjects aged 75 (mean: 75.76) were available for analyses. Processing speed was measured by the Trail Making Test-A, Executive Function by the Trail Making Test-B and Verbal Fluency. DSM-IV-criteria were used for diagnosing depression. Cerebral comorbidity (e.g., stroke, Parkinson's disease), sex, education, antidepressant, and/or benzodiazepine medication, and a history of depression were taken into account as covariates. Univariate analyses and multiple regression analyses were calculated. Higher education was strongly related to better performance in all three psychometric tests. Cerebral comorbidity significantly slowed TMT-A performance and reduced Verbal Fluency scores. In multiple regression analysis depression showed only a minor, slowing influence on TMT-A and TMT-B performance. Depression only had a minor influence on processing speed and executive function in this sample of nondemented subjects. By comparison, the influence of education and cerebral comorbidity was seen to be stronger. (JINS, 2011, 17, 822–831)

Keywords

ElderlyCognitionGeriatric depressionVerbal fluencyTrail Making TestVITA study
Type
Regular Articles
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 17 , Issue 5 , September 2011 , pp. 822 - 831
Copyright
Copyright © The International Neuropsychological Society 2011

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Footnotes

Authors Jungwirth and Zehetmayer contributed equally to this work.

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