Depression in Older Adults Among Community: The Role of Executive Function

Abstract

Summary Background Although previous studies have proposed that elderly depression is associated with higher negative affect (NA) and lower positive affect (PA), the relationship between elderly depression and executive function remains controversial. Methods Participants were recruited from the community and assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination, the Geriatric Depression Scale, PA and NA tests, the Modified Card Sorting test (MCST), and a test of verbal fluency (VF). The participants were 319 middle-aged people (mean age = 58.05) and 276 elderly people (mean age = 74.41). The participants in each age group were then divided into a depression group and a control group according to their geriatric depression scale scores. Results Compared to the middle-aged group, the elderly group displayed significantly poorer executive function. Compared to the elderly control group, the depressed elderly group displayed poorer executive function, but this phenomenon was not found in the middle-aged group. Stepwise regression analysis showed that the factors of depression were NA and low PA for both the middle-aged and elderly depression groups. However, executive function including MSCT and VF were non-significant variables in regression analysis. Conclusion Executive dysfunction in elderly people with depression may be associated with the age effect. As people with depression age, their executive dysfunction becomes more pronounced. An elevated NA and lack of PA can explain the severity of depression, but executive function cannot explain depression in either middle-aged or elderly people.