Bhang Iris, Mogle Jacqueline, Hill Nikki, Whitaker Emily B, Bhargava Sakshi
College of Nursing, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA.
Aging Ment Health. 2020 Nov;24(11):1864-1871. doi: 10.1080/13607863.2019.1647135. Epub 2019 Aug 5.
Older adults commonly report problems with their memory which can elicit sadness and worry about future development of cognitive impairment. Conversely, ongoing depressive symptoms can negatively impact older adults' perceptions of their memory performance. The current study examined the longitudinal associations between self-reported memory problems and depressive symptoms to explore which symptom tends to appear first. Two datasets from ongoing observational, longitudinal studies of aging (Memory and Aging Project; Minority Aging Research Study) were used for secondary analyses. Older adults ( = 1,724; = 77.03; = 7.54; 76.80% female; 32.26% Black) completed up to 18 annual assessments of self-reported memory (two items: perceived decline in memory and frequency of memory problems) and depressive symptoms. Multilevel models were used to examine intra-individual variability and time-lagged relationships between self-reported memory and depressive symptoms. Concurrently, self-reported memory problems and depressive symptoms were significantly related; at times when older adults reported poorer memory, they also reported more depressive symptoms, regardless of the type of memory self-report. Prospectively, perceived memory decline predicted future depressive symptoms, but depressive symptoms did not predict future reports of memory decline. Self-reported frequency of memory problems did not predict future depressive symptoms or vice versa. The current study's findings suggest a temporal relationship between perceived memory decline and depressive symptoms, such that perceived memory decline can lead to future depressive symptoms. These findings can inform future studies focused on developing a standardized assessment of self-reported memory that is separable from depressive symptoms.
老年人常常报告自己存在记忆问题，这可能引发悲伤情绪，并让人担心未来认知障碍的发展。相反，持续的抑郁症状会对老年人对自己记忆表现的认知产生负面影响。本研究考察了自我报告的记忆问题与抑郁症状之间的纵向关联，以探究哪种症状往往先出现。来自正在进行的衰老观察性纵向研究的两个数据集（记忆与衰老项目；少数族裔衰老研究）被用于二次分析。老年人（n = 1724；年龄均值 = 77.03岁；标准差 = 7.54；76.80%为女性；32.26%为黑人）完成了多达18次关于自我报告记忆（两个项目：感觉记忆衰退和记忆问题出现频率）和抑郁症状的年度评估。采用多水平模型来检验自我报告记忆与抑郁症状之间的个体内变异性和时间滞后关系。同时，自我报告的记忆问题与抑郁症状显著相关；当老年人报告记忆较差时，他们也报告了更多的抑郁症状，无论记忆自我报告的类型如何。前瞻性地看，感觉记忆衰退预测了未来的抑郁症状，但抑郁症状并未预测未来的记忆衰退报告。自我报告的记忆问题出现频率并未预测未来的抑郁症状，反之亦然。本研究的结果表明，感觉记忆衰退与抑郁症状之间存在一种时间关系，即感觉记忆衰退会导致未来出现抑郁症状。这些发现可为未来专注于开发一种与抑郁症状相分离的自我报告记忆标准化评估的研究提供参考。
