A two-year study of individuals age 65 and older shows that depression puts seniors at risk for subsequent declines in executive function. Researchers tested 709 subjects yearly using the Mattis Dementia Rating Scale, monitored patients' medical charts and conducted interviews to assess functioning, cognition and depression. They found that individuals with depression were at a greater risk for intellectual dysfunction at one and two years. Greater medical difficulties were also found to be independently associated with both cognitive decline and depression.
ABSTRACT: Does Depression Precede or Follow Executive Dysfunction? Outcomes in Older Primary Care Patients