Norwegian National Advisory Unit on Ageing and Health, Vestfold Hospital Trust, Tønsberg, Norway.
Department of Geriatric Medicine, Oslo University Hospital-Ullevaal, Oslo, Norway.
Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord. 2021;50(3):258-265. doi: 10.1159/000517936. Epub 2021 Aug 12.
Depression is common amongst people with dementia. This study examines whether locus of control (LoC), a perceived control construct influential in the coping process, is related to depressive symptoms in this population.
In this prospective observational study, 257 community-dwelling older adults with a confirmed dementia diagnosis were included. At baseline, measures of depressive symptoms, LoC, cognition, independent functional ability, general health, dementia severity, and dementia disease insight were collected. At follow-up, measures of depressive symptoms and cognition were collected. Multiple linear regression using degree of depressive symptoms as measured with Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale as a dependent variable was applied to assess whether LoC was associated with depressive symptoms at baseline and follow-up while controlling for covariates.
LoC (p < 0.001), general health (p = 0.003), and insight (p = 0.010) were associated with severity of depressive symptoms at baseline, accounting for 28% of the variance. LoC (p = 0.025) and depressive symptoms (p < 0.001) at baseline were associated with severity of depressive symptoms at follow-up, accounting for 56.3% of the variance.
LoC was significantly associated with severity of depressive symptoms in people with dementia at baseline and at follow-up. Attention to LoC may be valuable for our understanding of depression in people with dementia, and interventions targeting depression could benefit from including a focus on internalizing perceived control. However, these findings are novel, and more research is needed.
抑郁症在痴呆患者中很常见。本研究探讨了控制源（LoC），一种在应对过程中具有影响力的感知控制结构，是否与该人群的抑郁症状有关。
在这项前瞻性观察研究中，纳入了 257 名居住在社区的确诊为痴呆的老年人。在基线时，收集了抑郁症状、LoC、认知、独立功能能力、一般健康状况、痴呆严重程度和痴呆疾病洞察力的测量值。在随访时，收集了抑郁症状和认知的测量值。使用 Montgomery-Asberg 抑郁评定量表（Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale）测量的抑郁程度作为因变量的多元线性回归，用于评估在控制协变量的情况下，LoC 是否与基线和随访时的抑郁症状相关。
LoC（p<0.001）、一般健康状况（p=0.003）和洞察力（p=0.010）与基线时抑郁症状的严重程度相关，解释了 28%的方差。LoC（p=0.025）和基线时的抑郁症状（p<0.001）与随访时抑郁症状的严重程度相关，解释了 56.3%的方差。
LoC 与痴呆患者基线和随访时抑郁症状的严重程度显著相关。关注 LoC 可能有助于我们理解痴呆患者的抑郁，针对抑郁的干预措施可能受益于将内部感知控制作为重点。然而，这些发现是新颖的，需要更多的研究。
