Cited by 62Cognitive Abilities and TestingDementia and Cognitive Impairment ResearchAging and Gerontology Research

A 35-Year Longitudinal Assessment of Cognition and Midlife Depression Symptoms: The Vietnam Era Twin Study of Aging

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Franz, Carol E., Lyons, Michael J., O'Brien, Robert, Panizzon, Matthew S., Kim, Kathleen, Bhat, Reshma, Grant, Michael D., Toomey, Rosemary +3 more·2011·The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry

Abstract

Objective To determine whether early adult cognitive ability is a risk factor for depressive symptoms in midlife and how genetic and environmental influences explain the association and to examine cross-sectional relationships between depressive symptoms and specific cognitive abilities at midlife.Design A 35-year longitudinal and cross-sectional twin study of cognitive aging.Setting Large multicenter study in the United States.Participants One thousand two hundred thirty-seven male twins aged 51 to 60 years.Measurements At the age of 20 years and midlife, participants completed the same version of a general cognitive ability test (Armed Forces Qualification Test [AFQT]). Midlife testing included an extensive neurocognitive protocol assessing processing speed, verbal memory, visual-spatial memory, working memory, executive function, and visual-spatial ability. Participants completed the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale before cognitive testing and provided health and life style information during a medical history interview.Results Lower age 20 AFQT scores predicted higher levels of depressive symptoms at age 55 years (r = -0.16,p <0.001). In bivariate twin modeling, 77% of the correlation between early cognitive ability and midlife depressive symptoms was due to shared genetic influences. Controlling for current age, age 20 AFQT, and nonindependence ofobservations, depressive symptoms were associated with worse midlife AFQT scores and poorer performance in all cognitive domains except verbal memory.Conclusion Results suggest that low cognitive ability is a risk factor for depressive symptoms; this association is partly due to shared genetic influences. Crosssectional analyses indicate that the association between depressive symptoms and performance is not linked to specific cognitive domains.

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  • After adjustment for confounders, a lower score on a general cognitive measure was associated with increased risk of developing depressive symptoms.

    “Moreover, the large-scale Vietnam Era Twin Study showed that, after adjustment for confounders, a lower score on a general cognitive measure was associated with increased risk of developing depressive symptoms [42].”

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Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. [35]Wechsler D Manual for the Wechsler Memory Scale 1997 Psychological Corporation San Antonio, TX Third Edition
  2. [49]Franz CE Pannizon M Lyons MJ Male depression and adult attachment styles: Genetic and environmental influences American Journal of Medical Genetics (Neuropsychiatric Genetics) 2006 141B 742 [Abstract]

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Authors
Franz, C. E., Lyons, M. J., O'Brien, R., Panizzon, M. S., Kim, K., Bhat, R., Grant, M. D., Toomey, R., Eisen, S., Xian, H., & Kremen, W. S.
Affiliations
  • University of California San Diego (US)
  • Boston University (US)
  • Washington University in St. Louis (US)
Corresponding author
Franz, Carol E.
Venue
The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2011-06
Volume
19
Issue
6
Pages
559-570
ISSN
1064-7481 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2003784325
Cited by
62
References
59
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 1 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 6 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 7 · 2013: 5 · 2012: 3
FWCI
4.99
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
National Institute on Aging (AG 022982, R01AG022982, AG022381, R01AG022381, AG 018384, R01AG018384, R01AG018386, AG018386)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Abilities and Testing
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology › Aging and Gerontology Research
Keywords
depressive symptoms, cognitive ability, cognitive aging, genetic factors, shared environment, twin studies, processing speed, working memory, executive function, visuospatial memory, verbal memory, Armed Forces Qualification Test, risk factors for depression
MeSH terms
Aging, Cognition, Cross-Sectional Studies, Depression, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Middle Aged, Neuropsychological Tests, Psychomotor Performance, Risk Factors, Twins, Dizygotic, Twins, Monozygotic, Veterans, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Vietnam Conflict

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