INS NYC 2024 Program

Symposium	Symposia 15 Program Schedule 02/17/2024 10:45 am - 12:10 pm Room: Broadway Ballroom Symposia 15: Risk Factors for Cognitive Decline Among Representative Samples: Baseline Findings from the U.S. POINTER Study Simposium #5 Depressive symptoms were related to processing speed in older adults, but not to blood biomarkers in the U.S. POINTER trial at baseline Kristin Krueger, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, United States Kathryn Papp, Mass General Brigham, Boston, United States Sarah Farias, University of California, Davis, Davis, United States Kathryn Garcia, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, United States Laura Lovato, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, United States Bonnie Sachs, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, United States Athene Lee, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, United States Susan Landau, University of Berkeley, Berkeley, United States Tessa Harrison, University of Berkeley, Berkeley, United States Heather Snyder, Alzheimer's Association, Chicago, United States Category: Aging Keyword 1: cognitive functioning Keyword 2: depression Keyword 3: aging (normal) Objective: Depressive symptoms play an important role in the cognitive health of older adults, yet the exact nature of their influence is not fully understood. There is strong evidence that depressive symptoms are independently associated with cognitive decline and dementia and have also been associated with cognitive dysfunction in the absence of dementia. We evaluated the relationship between depressive symptoms and cognition in the context of blood biomarkers. Participants and Methods: We examined the association of depressive symptoms and cognitive functioning at baseline in 2,103 participants (average age 68.2 years, 69% female, 69% White Non-Hispanic). Exclusion criteria included major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder. We measured cognition with the Neuropsychological Test Battery modified for U.S. POINTER, or PmNTB. Depression was measured with the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). Simple linear regression models were run to evaluate the relationship between cognitive function and GDS after controlling for age, sex, education, race, ethnicity, and site. In secondary analyses, simple linear regression models were used to evaluate the relationship between cognitive functioning and GDS, using a median split (0-1, 2+) and the conventional/clinical GDS cut-off of 4 (0-4 vs 5+). In a subset of 795 individuals, we examined the relationship between GDS score and early MTL tau deposition. We then used Independent sample T-tests to evaluate if high and low amyloid groups differed in their GDS score. Results: In initial analyses we found that greater endorsement of depressive symptoms was associated with slower processing speed (estimate = -0.022; 95% CI: -0.044, -0.001, p-value=0.042), but was not associated with the global composite score, episodic memory, or executive function. No association was found between GDS score and cognitive function in secondary analyses using the GDS median split or conventional GDS clinical cut-offs. GDS scores were not associated with early MTL tau deposition and high and low amyloid groups did not differ in their GDS scores. Conclusions: At baseline, subclinical depressive symptoms may be associated with decreased processing speed in U.S. POINTER participants. Depressive symptoms may affect processing speed, independent of underlying disease processes. The results are limited by the small number of persons with depressive symptoms which may have affected our ability to find a statistically significant relationship.

Symposium

02/17/2024
10:45 am - 12:10 pm
Room: Broadway Ballroom

Symposia 15: Risk Factors for Cognitive Decline Among Representative Samples: Baseline Findings from the U.S. POINTER Study

Simposium #5

Depressive symptoms were related to processing speed in older adults, but not to blood biomarkers in the U.S. POINTER trial at baseline

Kristin Krueger, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, United States
Kathryn Papp, Mass General Brigham, Boston, United States
Sarah Farias, University of California, Davis, Davis, United States
Kathryn Garcia, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, United States
Laura Lovato, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, United States
Bonnie Sachs, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, United States
Athene Lee, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, United States
Susan Landau, University of Berkeley, Berkeley, United States
Tessa Harrison, University of Berkeley, Berkeley, United States
Heather Snyder, Alzheimer's Association, Chicago, United States

Category: Aging

Keyword 1: cognitive functioning
Keyword 2: depression
Keyword 3: aging (normal)

Objective:

Depressive symptoms play an important role in the cognitive health of older adults, yet the exact nature of their influence is not fully understood. There is strong evidence that depressive symptoms are independently associated with cognitive decline and dementia and have also been associated with cognitive dysfunction in the absence of dementia. We evaluated the relationship between depressive symptoms and cognition in the context of blood biomarkers.

Participants and Methods:

We examined the association of depressive symptoms and cognitive functioning at baseline in 2,103 participants (average age 68.2 years, 69% female, 69% White Non-Hispanic). Exclusion criteria included major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder. We measured cognition with the Neuropsychological Test Battery modified for U.S. POINTER, or PmNTB. Depression was measured with the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). Simple linear regression models were run to evaluate the relationship between cognitive function and GDS after controlling for age, sex, education, race, ethnicity, and site. In secondary analyses, simple linear regression models were used to evaluate the relationship between cognitive functioning and GDS, using a median split (0-1, 2+) and the conventional/clinical GDS cut-off of 4 (0-4 vs 5+). In a subset of 795 individuals, we examined the relationship between GDS score and early MTL tau deposition. We then used Independent sample T-tests to evaluate if high and low amyloid groups differed in their GDS score.

Results:

In initial analyses we found that greater endorsement of depressive symptoms was associated with slower processing speed (estimate = -0.022; 95% CI: -0.044, -0.001, p-value=0.042), but was not associated with the global composite score, episodic memory, or executive function. No association was found between GDS score and cognitive function in secondary analyses using the GDS median split or conventional GDS clinical cut-offs. GDS scores were not associated with early MTL tau deposition and high and low amyloid groups did not differ in their GDS scores.

Conclusions:

At baseline, subclinical depressive symptoms may be associated with decreased processing speed in U.S. POINTER participants. Depressive symptoms may affect processing speed, independent of underlying disease processes. The results are limited by the small number of persons with depressive symptoms which may have affected our ability to find a statistically significant relationship.