Do severity and duration of depressive symptoms predict cognitive decline in older persons? Results of the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam
Open accessAbstract
Background and aims Some prospective studies show that depression is a risk factor for cognitive decline. So far, the explanation for the background of this association has remained unclear. The present study investigated 1) whether depression is etiologically linked to cognitive decline; 2) whether depression and cognitive decline may be the consequence of the same underlying subcortical pathology, or 3) whether depression is a reaction to global cognitive deterioration.Methods A cohort of 133 depressed and 144 non-depressed older persons was followed at eight successive observations over 3 years. All subjects were participants in the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (LASA). Depression symptoms were measured by means of the CES-D at eight successive waves. Cognitive function (memory function, information processing speed, global cognitive functioning) was assessed at baseline and at the last CES-D measurement.Results The severity and duration of depressive symptoms were not associated with subsequent decline in memory functioning or global cognitive decline. There was an association between both chronic mild depression and chronic depression, and decline in speed of information processing.Conclusions These results support the hypothesis that, in older persons, chronic depression as well as cognitive decline may be the consequence of the same underlying subcortical pathology.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Depression is difficult to differentiate clinically from dementia and early cognitive decline.
“Second, depression occurs more frequently in people with diabetes [73] and is difficult to differentiate clinically from dementia and early cognitive decline [74 -77].”
From Cognitive decline and dementia in diabetes—systematic overview of prospective observational studies (2005) · cites this paper as [75]
Cites
Folstein, M. F., Folstein, S. E., & McHugh, P. R. (1975) · Journal of Psychiatric Research · doi:10.1016/0022-3956(75)90026-6 · Cited by 88,282 · see citing works
The CES-D Scale: A Self-Report Depression Scale for Research in the General Population
Radloff, L. S. (1977) · Applied Psychological Measurement · doi:10.1177/014662167700100306 · Cited by 53,267 · see citing works
(1995) · Cited by 2,809 · see citing works
Glucocorticoids and Hippocampal Atrophy in Neuropsychiatric Disorders
Sapolsky, R. M. (2000) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.57.10.925 · Cited by 2,016 · see citing works
Why stress is bad for your brain
Sapolsky, R. M. (1996) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.273.5276.749 · Cited by 1,306 · see citing works
Beekman, A. T. F., Deeg, D. J. H., van Limbeek, J., Braam, A. W., VRIES, M. Z. D., & van Tilburg, W. (1997) · Psychological Medicine · doi:10.1017/s0033291796003510 · Cited by 1,135 · see citing works
Self-citationBreteler, M. M. B., Swieten, J. C. V., Bots, M. L., Grobbee, D. E., Claus, J. J., Hout, J. H. W. V. D., van Harskamp, F., Tanghe, H. L. J., de Jong, P. T. V. M., van Gijn, J., et al. (1994) · Neurology · doi:10.1212/wnl.44.7.1246 · Cited by 1,006 · see citing works
Kriegsman, D. M. W., Penninx, B. W. J. H., van Eijk, J. T. M., Boeke, A. J. P., & Deeg, D. J. H. (1996) · Journal of Clinical Epidemiology · doi:10.1016/s0895-4356(96)00274-0 · Cited by 934 · see citing works
Self-citationDEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS IN RELATION TO PHYSICAL HEALTH AND FUNCTIONING IN THE ELDERLY
Berkman, L. F., Berkman, C., Kasl, S. V., FREEMAN, D. H., Leo-Summers, L. S., Ostfeld, A. M., Cornoni‐Huntley, J. C., & Brody, J. A. (1986) · American Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a114408 · Cited by 812 · see citing works
Clinically defined vascular depression
(1997) · American Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1176/ajp.154.4.562 · Cited by 557 · see citing works
Depressed Mood and the Incidence of Alzheimer's Disease in the Elderly Living in the Community
Devanand, D. P. (1996) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.1996.01830020093011 · Cited by 548 · see citing works
Decreased memory performance in healthy humans induced by stress-level cortisol treatment
Newcomer, J. W. (1999) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.56.6.527 · Cited by 546 · see citing works
Baddeley, A., Wilson, B. A., & Watts, F. (1995) · Cited by 487 · see citing works
Fuster, J. M. (1996) · American Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1176/ajp.153.5.727-a · Cited by 485 · see citing works
Is depression a risk factor for dementia or cognitive decline?
Jorm, A. F. (2000) · Gerontology · doi:10.1159/000022163 · Cited by 416 · see citing works
Depression and risk of cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease
Geerlings, M. I., Bouter, L. M., Schoevers, R. A., Beekman, A. T. F., Jonker, C., Deeg, D. J. H., van Tilburg, W., Adèr, H. J., & Schmand, B. A. (2000) · The British Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1192/bjp.176.6.568 · Cited by 351 · see citing works
Self-citationDepressive symptoms and cognitive decline in elderly people: Longitudinal study
Paterniti, S., Verdier-Taillefer, M.-H., Dufouil, C., & Alpérovitch, A. (2002) · British Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1192/bjp.181.5.406 · Cited by 318 · see citing works
Living Arrangements and Social Networks of Older Adults
Bedford, V. H., Knipscheer, C. P. M., Gierveld, J. D. J., van Tilburg, T. G., & Dykstra, P. A. (1996) · Journal of Marriage and the Family · doi:10.2307/353740 · Cited by 287 · see citing works
MRI and neuropsychological differences in early- and late-life-onset geriatric depression
Salloway, S., Malloy, P., Kohn, R., Gillard, E., Duffy, J., Rogg, J., Tung, G., Richardson, E., Thomas, C., & Westlake, R. (1996) · Neurology · doi:10.1212/wnl.46.6.1567 · Cited by 278 · see citing works
Depressive Symptomatology and Incident Cognitive Decline in an Elderly Community Sample
Bassuk, S. S., Berkman, L. F., & Wypij, D. (1998) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.55.12.1073 · Cited by 264 · see citing works
The course of depression in the elderly: a longitudinal community-based study in Australia
Henderson, A. S., Korten, A. E., Jacomb, P. A., Mackinnon, A. J., Jorm, A. F., Christensen, H. M., & Rodgers, B. (1997) · Psychological Medicine · doi:10.1017/s0033291796004199 · Cited by 215 · see citing works
Geerlings, S. W., Beekman, A. T. F., Deeg, D. J. H., & van Tilburg, W. (2000) · Psychological Medicine · doi:10.1017/s0033291799001890 · Cited by 206 · see citing works
Self-citationDufouil, C., Fuhrer, R., Dartigues, J., & Alpérovitch, A. (1996) · American Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a008974 · Cited by 181 · see citing works
Lentzner, H. R. (1995) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/0277-9536(95)90277-5 · Cited by 154 · see citing works
Comijs, H. C., Jonker, C., Beekman, A. T. F., & Deeg, D. J. H. (2001) · International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry · doi:10.1002/gps.343 · Cited by 107 · see citing works
Self-citationDuration and severity of depression predict mortality in older adults in the community
GEERLINGS, S. W., Beekman, A. T. F., Deeg, D. J. H., Twisk, J. W. R., & van Tilburg, W. (2002) · Psychological Medicine · doi:10.1017/s0033291702005585 · Cited by 91 · see citing works
Self-citationLiving arrangements and social networks of older adults
Knipscheer, C. P. M., Gierveld, J. D. J., Tilburg, T. G. V., & Dykstra, P. A. (1995) · Digital Academic REpository of VU University Amsterdam (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) · Cited by 29 · see citing works
Laatsch, L. (2002) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b0-12-343010-0/00147-1 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Depressive Symptoms and Cognitive Decline in Nondemented Elderly Women: A Prospective Study
Yaffe, K., Blackwell, T., Gore, R., Sands, L., Reus, V., & Browner, W. S. (1999) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.56.5.425 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
1 of the 30 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Cognitive decline and dementia in diabetes—systematic overview of prospective observational studies
Cukierman, T., Gerstein, H. C., & Williamson, J. D. (2005) · Diabetologia · doi:10.1007/s00125-005-0023-4 · Cited by 1,049 · see citing works
The Role of Healthcare Robots for Older People at Home: A Review
Robinson, H., MacDonald, B., & Broadbent, E. (2014) · International Journal of Social Robotics · doi:10.1007/s12369-014-0242-2 · Cited by 459 · see citing works
Wayne, R. V., & Johnsrude, I. S. (2015) · Ageing Research Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.arr.2015.06.002 · Cited by 453 · see citing works
The NIH Cognitive and Emotional Health Project: Report of the Critical Evaluation Study Committee
Hendrie, H. C., Albert, M. S., Butters, M. A., Gao, S., Knopman, D. S., Launer, L. J., Yaffe, K., Cuthbert, B. N., Edwards, E., & Wagster, M. V. (2006) · Alzheimer's & Dementia · doi:10.1016/j.jalz.2005.11.004 · Cited by 323 · see citing works
Tworoger, S. S., Lee, S., Schernhammer, E. S., & Grodstein, F. (2006) · Alzheimer Disease & Associated Disorders · doi:10.1097/01.wad.0000201850.52707.80 · Cited by 266 · see citing works
Usual sleep duration and cognitive function in older adults in Spain
Faubel, R., López‐García, E., Guallar‐Castillón, P., Graciani, A., Banegas, J. R., & Rodríguez‐Artalejo, F. (2009) · Journal of Sleep Research · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2869.2009.00759.x · Cited by 169 · see citing works
Depressive Symptoms and Cognitive Decline in Community‐Dwelling Older Adults
Köhler, S., van Boxtel, M. P. J., van Os, J., Thomas, A. J., O'Brien, J. T., Jolles, J., Verhey, F. R. J., & Allardyce, J. (2010) · Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · doi:10.1111/j.1532-5415.2010.02807.x · Cited by 152 · see citing works
Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression in the Course of Cognitive Decline
Bierman, E. J. M., Comijs, H. C., Jonker, C., & Beekman, A. T. F. (2007) · Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders · doi:10.1159/000107083 · Cited by 110 · see citing works
Self-citationPersistent depressive symptoms and cognitive decline in older adults
Zheng, F., Zhong, B., Song, X., & Xie, W. (2018) · The British Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1192/bjp.2018.155 · Cited by 107 · see citing works
Does subjective sleep affect cognitive function in healthy elderly subjects? The Proof cohort
Saint Martin, M., Sforza, E., Barthélémy, J. C., Thomas-Anterion, C., & Roche, F. (2012) · Sleep Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.sleep.2012.06.021 · Cited by 94 · see citing works
Chodosh, J., Miller‐Martinez, D., Aneshensel, C. S., Wight, R. G., & Karlamangla, A. S. (2010) · Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · doi:10.1111/j.1532-5415.2010.03171.x · Cited by 72 · see citing works
The effect of anxiety and depression on decline of memory function in Alzheimer's disease
Bierman, E. J. M., Comijs, H. C., Jonker, C., Scheltens, P., & Beekman, A. T. F. (2009) · International Psychogeriatrics · doi:10.1017/s1041610209990512 · Cited by 67 · see citing works
Self-citationHan, F.-F., Wang, H., Wu, J.-J., Yao, W., Hao, C., & Pei, J.-J. (2021) · European Psychiatry · doi:10.1192/j.eurpsy.2021.2230 · Cited by 58 · see citing works
Sanders, J. B., Bremmer, M. A., Comijs, H. C., Deeg, D. J. H., & Beekman, A. T. F. (2016) · Journal of the American Medical Directors Association · doi:10.1016/j.jamda.2015.11.016 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
Self-citationGait Speed and Processing Speed as Clinical Markers for Geriatric Health Outcomes
Sanders, J. B., Bremmer, M. A., Comijs, H. C., van de Ven, P. M., Deeg, D. J. H., & Beekman, A. T. F. (2016) · American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.jagp.2016.12.003 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Self-citationNiti, M., Yap, K. B., Kua, E. H., & Ng, T. P. (2009) · The Journals of Gerontology Series A · doi:10.1093/gerona/gln013 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
Longitudinal change in memory performance associated with HTR2A polymorphism
Reynolds, C. A., Jansson, M., Gatz, M., & Pedersen, N. L. (2005) · Neurobiology of Aging · doi:10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2004.12.009 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
Depressive Symptoms, Major Depressive Episode and Cognition in the Elderly: The Three-City Study
Godin, O., Dufouil, C., Ritchie, K., Dartigues, J.-F., Tzourio, C., Pérès, K., Artero, S., & Alpérovitch, A. (2007) · Neuroepidemiology · doi:10.1159/000101508 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
Sanders, J. B., Comijs, H. C., Bremmer, M. A., Deeg, D. J. H., & Beekman, A. T. F. (2014) · International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry · doi:10.1002/gps.4224 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
Self-citationDesai, R., Charlesworth, G. M., Brooker, H. J., POTTS, H. W. W., Corbett, A., Aarsland, D., & Ballard, C. G. (2020) · Journal of the American Medical Directors Association · doi:10.1016/j.jamda.2020.01.106 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
Rozzini, L., Chilovi, B. V., Bertoletti, E., Trabucchi, M., & Padovani, A. (2007) · Aging Clinical and Experimental Research · doi:10.1007/bf03324693 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
Cognitive Functioning and the Natural Course of Depressive Symptoms in Late Life
Sanders, J. B., Bremmer, M. A., Comijs, H. C., Deeg, D. J. H., Lampe, I. K., & Beekman, A. T. F. (2010) · American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry · doi:10.1097/jgp.0b013e3181f7d8e9 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Self-citationBrain Aging in Midlife: The Beaver Dam Offspring Study
Schubert, C. R., Fischer, M., Pinto, A. A., Chen, Y., Klein, R., Klein, R., Tsai, M. Y., Tweed, T. S., & Cruickshanks, K. J. (2019) · Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · doi:10.1111/jgs.15886 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Piccinin, A. M., Terrera, G. M., Sparks, C., & Bontempo, D. E. (2011) · The Journals of Gerontology Series B · doi:10.1093/geronb/gbr038 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Cohen, H. M. (1973) · Europe PMC (PubMed Central) · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Desai, P., Krueger, K. R., de Leon, C. F. M., Wilson, R. S., Evans, D. A., & Rajan, K. B. (2023) · The Journals of Gerontology Series A · doi:10.1093/gerona/glad129 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Cognitive impairments and functional declines in older adults at high risk for care needs
Umegaki, H., Suzuki, Y., Yanagawa, M., Nonogaki, Z., Nakashima, H., Kuzuya, M., & Endo, H. (2012) · Geriatrics and gerontology international/Geriatrics & gerontology international · doi:10.1111/j.1447-0594.2012.00864.x · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Wang, W., Lü, K., Du, Q., Li, C., Wang, J., Wei, Y., Yao, M., Li, S., Li, X., Tian, X., et al. (2024) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2024.08.017 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Kooistra, M., Zuithoff, N. P. A., Grool, A. M., Zinsmeester, M., Biessels, G. J., van der Graaf, Y., & Geerlings, M. I. (2014) · Psychological Medicine · doi:10.1017/s0033291714002864 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Herfst in de hersenen, over stemmingsstoornissen en veroudering
Stek, M. L. (2010) · Digital Academic REpository of VU University Amsterdam (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Bidirectional Associations Between End-of-Life Communication and Depressive Symptoms in Older Adults
Nakanishi, M., Nakashima, T., Miyamoto, Y., Yamasaki, S., Nishida, A., van der Plas, A. G. M., Fleuren, N., Kok, A. A. L., Huisman, M. A., & van der Steen, J. T. (2025) · Journal of Pain and Symptom Management · doi:10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2025.11.029 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Kour, H., Kothiwale, V., & Goudar, S. S. (2015) · Journal of the Scientific Society · doi:10.4103/0974-5009.165588
Cognitive and Visual Speech Contributions to Speech Perception in Challenging Listening Conditions
Wayne, R. V. (2016) · QSpace (Queen's University Library)
Current awareness in geriatric psychiatry
(2005) · International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry · doi:10.1002/gps.1223
- Authors
- Comijs, H. C., van Tilburg, T., Geerlings, S. W., Jonker, C., Deeg, D. J. H., van Tilburg, W., & Beekman, A. T. F.
- Affiliations
- Amsterdam Public Health (NL)
- Corresponding author
- Comijs, Hannie C.
- Venue
- Aging Clinical and Experimental Research
- Published
- 2004-06
- Volume
- 16
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 226-232
- ISSN
- 1594-0667 (ISSN-L)
- 1720-8319
- OpenAlex
- W2151950270
- Cited by
- 37
- References
- 30
- Citations by year
- 2025: 2 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 1 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 1 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 3 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 1.67
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- research.vu.nl
- Licence
- other-oa
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Aging Clinical and Experimental Research (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Digital Academic REpository of VU University Amsterdam (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) (submittedVersion)
- Pure Amsterdam UMC (submittedVersion)
- VU Research Portal (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Aging, Health, and Disability
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology › Aging and Gerontology Research
- Keywords
- depression, cognitive decline, older adults, depression severity, chronic depression, processing speed, memory, Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam
- MeSH terms
- Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Chronic Disease, Cognition Disorders, Depression, Female, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Middle Aged, Netherlands, Predictive Value of Tests, Severity of Illness Index
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
