Longitudinal relationship between cognitive function and depressive symptoms in older adults: evidence from China

Longitudinal studies on cognitive function and depressive symptoms in Chinese older adults are relatively limited. This study aimed to investigate the effects of cognitive function on depressive symptoms in Chinese older adults.

This study recruited 8,800 older adults from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) in 2011, 2013, 2015, 2018, and 2020. The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D10) was used to assess depressive symptoms, while mental status and situational memory were employed to evaluate cognitive function. Associations between cognitive function and current or subsequent depressive symptoms were analyzed using Pearson correlation analyses, and longitudinal relationships between cognitive function and depressive symptoms were analyzed using two-way fixed-effects models.

Pearson correlation analysis indicated a significant negative association between cognitive function and both current and subsequent depressive symptoms (p < 0.01). The two-way fixed-effects model results suggested that higher cognitive function was significantly associated with a lower risk of depressive symptoms after adjusting for all covariates (β = -0.124, 95% CI: -0.142, -0.106). Additionally, mental status had a stronger association on depressive symptoms compared to situational memory.

In this study, higher cognitive function was significantly associated with lower depressive symptom scores in older adults. Relevant policymakers and stakeholders should develop cognitive function improvement programs to alleviate depressive symptom scores in older adults.