The patterns of cognitive and functional impairment in amnestic and non-amnestic mild cognitive impairment in geriatric depression

Abstract

Objectives: Depressed older adults are at risk for the development of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), but few studies have characterized MCI subtypes in geriatric depression. The objective of this study was to identify the clinical patterns of MCI in late-life depression.

Design: Baseline demographic, clinical, and neuropsychological test data collected as part of a randomized antidepressant trial for geriatric depression.

Setting: UCLA-based outpatient clinic.

Participants: One hundred thirty-eight older adults with major depression.

Measurements: A neuropsychological test battery and comprehensive evaluations of depression, apathy, quality of life, medical burden, and vascular risk factors.

Results: Seventy-one participants (51%) had MCI and 67 (49%) were cognitively normal. Of subjects with MCI, 14 (20%) had amnestic MCI and 57 (80%) had non-amnestic MCI. Overall, patients with MCI had greater depression severity, poorer quality of life, and worse performance on the Mini-Mental State Exam than patients without MCI. Patients with non-amnestic MCI had significantly greater depression severity than patients without MCI. Across all subjects, depression severity correlated with impaired performance in language and visuospatial functioning.

Conclusion: Our findings suggest that MCI is associated with greater severity of depression, poorer quality of life, and worse global cognitive function. Overall, subtypes of MCI in geriatric depression differ in the patterns of functional impairment, which may require different therapeutic approaches.

Keywords: Geriatric depression; mild cognitive impairment.