Medical Psychological Center, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China.
Medical Psychological Institute of Central South University, Central South University, Changsha, China.
Front Public Health. 2023 Aug 22;11:1204977. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1204977. eCollection 2023.
Cognitive decline and negative emotions are common in aging, especially decline in cold cognition which often co-occurred with depression in middle-aged and older adults. This study analyzed the interactions between cold cognition and depression in the middle-aged and elder populations using network analysis and explored the effects of grandparenting on the cold cognition-depression network.
The data of 6,900 individuals (≥ 45 years) from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) were used. The Minimum Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Epidemiology Research Center Depression Scale-10 (CESD-10) were used to assess cold cognition and depressive symptoms, respectively. Centrality indices and bridge centrality indices were used to identify central nodes and bridge nodes, respectively.
Network analysis showed that nodes "language ability" and "depressed mood" were more central nodes in the network of cold cognition and depression in all participants. Meantime, nodes "attention," "language ability" and "hopeless" were three key bridge nodes connecting cold cognition and depressive symptoms. Additionally, the global connectivity of the cold cognition and depression network was stronger in the non-grandparenting than the grandparenting.
The findings shed a light on the complex interactions between cold cognition and depression in the middle-aged and elder populations. Decline in language ability and depressed mood can serve as predictors for the emergence of cold cognitive dysfunction and depression in individuals during aging. Attention, language ability and hopelessness are potential targets for psychosocial interventions. Furthermore, grandparenting is effective in alleviating cold cognitive dysfunction and depression that occur during individual aging.
认知能力下降和负面情绪在衰老中很常见，尤其是中年和老年人中经常同时出现的冷认知能力下降和抑郁。本研究使用网络分析分析了中年和老年人群中冷认知与抑郁之间的相互作用，并探讨了隔代养育对冷认知-抑郁网络的影响。
本研究使用了中国健康与养老追踪调查（CHARLS）的 6900 名（≥45 岁）个体的数据。使用简易精神状态检查量表（MMSE）和流行病学研究中心抑郁量表-10 项版（CESD-10）评估冷认知和抑郁症状。使用中心性指标和桥接中心性指标分别识别中心节点和桥接节点。
网络分析显示，在所有参与者的冷认知和抑郁网络中，节点“语言能力”和“抑郁情绪”是更中心的节点。同时，节点“注意力”、“语言能力”和“绝望”是连接冷认知和抑郁症状的三个关键桥接节点。此外，在非隔代养育组中，冷认知和抑郁网络的全局连通性强于隔代养育组。
这些发现揭示了中年和老年人群中冷认知与抑郁之间的复杂相互作用。语言能力和抑郁情绪的下降可以作为个体衰老过程中冷认知功能障碍和抑郁发生的预测指标。注意力、语言能力和绝望是心理社会干预的潜在靶点。此外，隔代养育在缓解个体衰老过程中出现的冷认知功能障碍和抑郁方面是有效的。
