title: Geriatric depression and its relation with cognitive impairment and dementia.
abstract: Different subtypes of depressive syndromes exist in late life; many of them have cognitive impairment and sometimes it is difficult to differentiate them from dementia. This research aimed to investigate subtypes of geriatric depression associated with cognitive impairment, searched for differential variables and tried to propose a study model. A hundred and eighteen depressive patients and forty normal subjects matched by age and educational level were evaluated with an extensive neuropsychological battery, scales to evaluate neuropsychiatric symptoms and daily life activities (DLA). Depressive patients were classified in groups by SCAN 2.1: Major Depression Disorder (MDD) (n: 31), Dysthymia Disorder (DD) (n: 31), Subsyndromal Depression Disorder (SSD) (n: 29), Depression due to Dementia (n: 27) (DdD). Neuropsychological significant differences (p<0.05) were observed between depressive groups, demonstrating distinctive cognitive profiles. Moreover, significant differences (p<0.05) were found in DLA between DdD vs all groups and MDD vs controls and vs SSD. Age of onset varied in the different subtypes of depression. Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) were significant variables that helped to differentiate depressive groups. Significant correlations between BDI and Neuropsychological tests were found in MDD and DD groups. Depressive symptoms and its relation with neuropsychological variables, MMSE, cognitive profiles, DLA and age of onset of depression should be taken into consideration for the study of subtypes of geriatric depression.
authors.affiliation: Memory Research Center, Department of Neurology, Hospital General Abel Zubizarreta (GCABA), Buenos Aires, Argentina; CEMIC University Institute (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina. Electronic address: drcaroldillon@yahoo.com.ar.
authors.forename: Carol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dillon
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Investigaciones Cardiológicas "Prof. Dr. Alberto C. Taquini" (ININCA-UBA-CONICET), Argentina.
authors.forename: María Florencia
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Tartaglini
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Investigaciones Cardiológicas "Prof. Dr. Alberto C. Taquini" (ININCA-UBA-CONICET), Argentina.
authors.forename: Dorina
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Stefani
authors.affiliation: Memory Research Center, Department of Neurology, Hospital General Abel Zubizarreta (GCABA), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Pablo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Salgado
authors.affiliation: CEMIC University Institute (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Fernando E
authors.initials: FE
authors.lastname: Taragano
authors.affiliation: Memory Research Center, Department of Neurology, Hospital General Abel Zubizarreta (GCABA), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Ricardo F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Allegri
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003704:Dementia / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
keywords: Cognitive impairment; Dementia; Geriatric depression