title: Does cognition predict treatment response and remission in psychotherapy for late-life depression?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To identify cognitive predictors of geriatric depression treatment outcome.
  
  
  METHODS
  Older participants completed baseline measures of memory and executive function, health, and baseline and post-treatment Hamilton Depression Scales (HAM-D) in a 12-week trial comparing psychotherapies (problem-solving vs. supportive; N = 46). We examined cognitive predictors to identify treatment responders (i.e., HAM-D scores reduced by ≥50%) and remitters (i.e., post-treatment HAM-D score ≤10).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Empirically derived decision trees identified poorer performance on switching (i.e., Trails B), with a cut-score of ≥82 predicting psychotherapy responders. No other cognitive or health variables predicted psychotherapy outcomes in the decision trees.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Psychotherapies that support or improve the executive skill of switching may augment treatment response for older patients exhibiting executive dysfunction in depression. If replicated, Trails B has potential as a brief cognitive tool for clinical decision-making in geriatric depression.
authors.affiliation: Sierra Pacific Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Centers, Palo Alto VA Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA; School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. Electronic address: sherryb@stanford.edu.
authors.forename: Sherry A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Beaudreau
authors.affiliation: Sierra Pacific Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Centers, Palo Alto VA Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA.
authors.forename: Tiffany
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Rideaux
authors.affiliation: Sierra Pacific Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Centers, Palo Alto VA Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA; School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: O'Hara
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, CA.
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Arean
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003071:Cognition; D003663:Decision Trees; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D056344:Executive Function; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011613:Psychotherapy; D012074:Remission Induction; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: Intervention; cognitive predictors; depressed; older adults; psychological treatments; treatment outcome