Decision-making executive function profile and performance in older adults with major depression: a case-control...

Area of Science:

• Geriatric Psychiatry
• Neuropsychology
• Cognitive Science

Background:

• Executive dysfunction is common in late-life depression.
• Decision-making (DM) is a key executive function, yet its role in geriatric depression is understudied.
• Understanding DM deficits is crucial for targeted interventions in older adults with depression.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the decision-making (DM) profile and performance in older adults with current unipolar major depression.
• To compare DM in individuals with current depression, remitted depression, and healthy controls.
• To investigate the association between depressive symptomatology and disadvantageous DM.

Main Methods:

• A case-control study involving three groups: current depression (n=30), remitted depression (n=43), and healthy controls (n=59).
• Decision-making (DM) assessed using the Melbourne Decision Making Questionnaire and the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT).
• Depressive symptoms, anxiety, and cognitive function measured using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D), Hamilton Anxiety Scale, and Mini-Mental State Examination.

Main Results:

• Current depression group showed higher scores in buck-passing and procrastination DM profiles compared to controls.
• Significant differences in hypervigilance DM profiles were observed between current and remitted depression groups.
• Higher HAM-D scores correlated with disadvantageous DM profiles, and current depression patients performed worse on the IGT.

Conclusions:

• Older adults with current depression exhibit maladaptive decision-making (DM) profiles.
• Decision-making performance is impaired in older adults with current depression compared to remitted and healthy groups.
• Findings underscore the impact of depression on executive functions, specifically decision-making, in older populations.