title: Cognitive functioning in complicated grief.
abstract: Complicated grief (CG) is increasingly recognized as a debilitating outcome of bereavement. Given the intensity of the stressor, its chronicity, and its association with depression, it is important to know the impact CG may have on cognitive functioning. This exploratory and descriptive study examined global and domain-specific cognitive functioning in a help-seeking sample of individuals with CG (n = 335) compared to a separately ascertained control sample (n = 250). Cognitive functioning was assessed using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). Controlling for age, sex and education effects, CG participants had lower total MoCA, visuospatial and attention scores relative to control participants. The two groups did not differ significantly in the domains of executive function, language, memory or orientation. Age, sex, and education accounted for much of the variance in MoCA scores, while CG severity and chronicity accounted for a very small percentage of MoCA score variance. Major depression was not a significant predictor of MoCA scores. This study is consistent with previous work demonstrating lower attention and global cognitive performance in individuals with CG compared to control participants. This study newly identifies the visuospatial domain as a target for future studies investigating cognitive functioning in CG.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine, USA; SUNY Downstate College of Medicine, USA.
authors.forename: Charles A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Hall
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine, USA. Electronic address: reynoldscf@upmc.edu.
authors.forename: Charles F
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Reynolds
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine, USA.
authors.forename: Meryl
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Butters
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, USA; Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System, USA; Veterans Medical and Research Foundation, USA.
authors.forename: Sidney
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zisook
authors.affiliation: Center for Anxiety and Traumatic Stress Disorders (NMS), Massachusetts General Hospital, USA.
authors.forename: Naomi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Simon
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, University of California San Diego, USA.
authors.forename: Jody
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Corey-Bloom
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, USA.
authors.forename: Barry D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Lebowitz
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine, USA.
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Begley
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, USA.
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mauro
authors.affiliation: Columbia University School of Social Work, USA; Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, USA.
authors.forename: M Katherine
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Shear
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001288:Attention; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D056344:Executive Function; D005260:Female; D006117:Grief; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D008609:Mental Status Schedule; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Cognition; Complicated grief; Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA); Persistent Complex Bereavement Disorder (PCBD); Prolonged grief
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