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Severity of depression = cognitive impairment

Posted by SLS on November 19, 2009, at 7:29:18

One of the most reliable indicators of depression severity is the degree of cognitive impairment. Although this is not news, I found the parsing of the various cognitive functions in this study interesting. For me, the results reported are accurate.

* Another major indicator of depression severity is psychomotor retardation.


- Scott

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A meta-analysis of depression severity and cognitive function

Lisa M. McDermotta and Klaus P. EbmeierCorresponding Author Contact Information, a, E-mail The Corresponding Author

aDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, UK

Received 26 January 2009;
revised 16 April 2009;
accepted 16 April 2009.
Available online 9 May 2009.

Abstract

Background

Studies examining the way in which cognitive impairment is associated with depression have produced inconsistent findings. Different severity of depressed mood across studies may account for such conflicting reports. However, inconsistent results have also been reported in relation to the specific association of depression severity with cognitive performance.

Methods

A meta-analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between severity of depression and cognitive function, using the correlation (Pearson's r) between depression severity scores and neuropsychological test performance. Individual meta-analyses were conducted for composite measures of cognitive functional domains (episodic memory, executive function, processing speed, semantic memory, and visuo-spatial memory). Analyses were also done across functional domains for timed and un-timed tests.

Results

Significant correlations between depression severity and cognitive performance were found in the domains of episodic memory, executive function, and processing speed, but not for semantic memory or visuo-spatial memory. For both timed and un-timed cognitive measures there were equally significant correlations with depression severity.

Limitations

There were few studies meeting inclusion criteria in some cognitive domains, papers had to be excluded due to insufficient data reporting, and there are limitations associated with the cross-sectional design.

Conclusions

The results suggest that previous inconsistent findings of the relationship between the severity of depression and cognitive function may be attributed to random variations and lack of power within studies.

Keywords: Depression; Severity of depression; Cognitive function


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http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6T2X-4W80C52-5&_user=10&_coverDate=12%2F31%2F2009&_rdoc=2&_fmt=high&_orig=browse&_srch=doc-info%28%23toc%234930%232009%23998809998%231531116%23FLA%23display%23Volume%29&_cdi=4930&_sort=d&_docanchor=&_ct=32&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=dfea310dbebd2ebb48ee2962038ff794

 

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poster:SLS thread:926207
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20091117/msgs/926207.html