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Updated: Jan 25, 2026
Assessment of Vascular Function in Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease
Published on: June 16, 2014
Depression and neurocognitive dysfunction in pediatric and young adult chronic kidney disease
Amy J Kogon1,2, Ji Young Kim3, Nina Laney4
1Division of Nephrology, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 3401 Civic Center Blvd, Philadelphia, PA, 19103, USA. kogona@email.chop.edu.
Insights
Depression is common in youth with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Obese CKD youth are more likely to be depressed, and depression impairs neurocognitive function in these patients.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Nephrology
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
- Neuropsychology
Background:
- Depression affects a significant portion of children with chronic kidney disease (CKD), ranging from 7-35%.
- In adults with CKD, depression is linked to adverse medical outcomes, social difficulties, and neurocognitive deficits.
- The impact of depression on neurocognitive function in pediatric CKD populations remains poorly understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify factors associated with depression in youth diagnosed with CKD.
- To investigate the effect of depression on neurocognitive performance in this demographic.
- To explore potential therapeutic targets for improving outcomes in CKD youth.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study involving 71 CKD participants and 64 controls, aged 8-25 years.
- Utilized depression inventories and comprehensive neurocognitive assessments.
- Employed multivariable logistic and linear regression analyses to identify associations and effects, including an interaction term for CKD status and depression.
Main Results:
- Obesity was significantly associated with depression in the CKD group (OR 10.25, P=0.01).
- Depressed youth with CKD demonstrated significantly poorer performance (0.6-1.0 SD lower) in five neurocognitive domains: attention, visual memory, visual-spatial skills, visual working memory, and problem-solving.
- These deficits were observed after adjusting for relevant clinical and demographic factors.
Conclusions:
- Youth with CKD and obesity have a higher likelihood of experiencing depression.
- Depression in youth with CKD is associated with impaired neurocognitive performance across multiple domains.
- Targeting depression may be a viable strategy to enhance neurocognitive outcomes in pediatric CKD patients.
Background:
Depression affects 7-35% of children with chronic kidney disease (CKD), and in adults with CKD, the presence of depression links to poorer medical outcomes, social functioning difficulties, and neurocognitive impairments. The relationship between depression and neurocognitive function in youth with CKD is unclear. We sought to identify factors associated with depression in youth with CKD and to determine whether depression affects neurocognitive performance.
Methods:
We conducted cross-sectional analyses in 71 CKD and 64 control participants aged 8 to 25 years who completed depression inventories and neurocognitive assessments as part of the Neurocognitive Assessment and Magnetic Resonance Imaging Analysis of Children and Young Adults with CKD Study. In the CKD group, multivariable logistic regression analysis determined associations between clinical and demographic factors and depression. In the full study cohort, multivariable linear regression analyses, including an interaction term between CKD status and depression evaluated the effect of depression on 11 neurocognitive outcome domains.
Results:
Obesity significantly associated with depression in the CKD group (OR 10.25, P = 0.01). In adjusted analyses, depressed youth with CKD scored worse than non-depressed CKD participants by 0.6-1.0 standard deviations in 5 neurocognitive domains: attention, visual memory, visual-spatial, visual working memory, and problem solving.
Conclusions:
CKD youth with obesity are more likely to be depressed, and those who are depressed exhibit worse neurocognitive performance. Depression may represent a therapeutic target to improve neurocognitive performance in youth with CKD.
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