Objective: The objective of this study was to ascertain level of cognitive function and its relationship with depression in American older adults with serious difficulty walking.

Background: Cognitive health has emerged as an important public health concern for America’s aging population. Depression is common in individuals with cognitive impairment and may confer a higher likelihood of progression to dementia.

Method: This study included adults (≥ aged 60 years) who participated National Health and Examination Survey (NHANES) 2013-2014 in United States. Cognitive functions were evaluated using the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer’s diseaseWord List Learning Test (CERAD-WL), CERAD Word List Recall Test (CERAD–DR), Animal FluencyTest (AF) and Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST). The predictor variables included a positive screen for clinically relevant depression (referent= PHQ-9 score <10). Unadjusted and adjusted logistic and linear regression models were conducted with a cross sectional survey dataset.

Results: Of 1489 participants, mean age and body mass index (BMI) were 69.9 years (52% female) and 28.0 kg/m² (36.9% obesity), respectively. One hundred fifty-five (10.4%) reported symptoms of depression. Participants with serious difficulty walking were more likely to have low score on the four assessments of the cognitive function and high score on the depressive symptoms. [table1] Cognitive impairment was positively associated with the serious difficulty walking in male, but the association only existed in female in DSST when further adjusted by depressive symptoms. [table2] In linear regression models, depressive symptoms was independently associated with the reduced cognitive function overall (β = – 0.191 ± 0.058, p = 0.001 for CERAD-WL; β = -0.074 ± 0.030, p = 0.014 for CERAD–DR; β = -0.214 ± 0.073, p = 0.004 for AF; and β= -0.783 ± 0.0221, p < 0.001 for DSST; respectively) in female, but the similar results were not observed in male. [table3]

Conclusion: In this representative sample of American older adults, cognitive impairment was associated with serious difficulty walking especially in male. Depressive symptoms adversely affected cognitive impairment in older female adults. Their presence may represent targets for improved management of cognitive symptoms among older adults with serious difficulty walking.

« Back to MDS Virtual Congress 2020

MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/cognitive-function-and-depressive-symptoms-among-older-adults-with-serious-difficulty-walking-in-americans/