Department of Health Policy and Management, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea; Interdisciplinary Program in Precision Public Health, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea; Center for Demography of Health and Aging, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Soc Sci Med. 2024 Nov;360:117328. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.117328. Epub 2024 Sep 11.
Despite the existing literature connecting depressive symptoms with cognitive function in adulthood, there is limited knowledge about the longitudinal association between depressive symptoms in adolescence and memory function in adulthood, as well as the mechanisms underlying this relationship.
This study aims to determine whether depressive symptoms in adolescence are associated with memory function in young adulthood. To explore the underlying mechanisms of this association, it employs a life course approach, testing the critical period, accumulation, and pathway models.
Utilizing data from the sibling sample of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), this study employed sibling fixed effects models to control for unobserved heterogeneity at the family level. To test various life course models, the analysis incorporated adult depressive symptoms, as well as an array of behavioral, psychosocial, and educational mechanism variables.
Sibling fixed effects estimates indicated a longitudinal association between depressive symptoms in adolescence and memory function in young adulthood (b = -0.084, p < 0.01). Depressive symptoms in adulthood neither explained nor intensified this association. Mediation analysis revealed that educational attainment modestly accounted for about 11% of the relationship between adolescent depressive symptoms and adult memory function. Combined, these findings lend support to the life course approach, with a specific focus on the critical period model.
This study's findings suggest that depressive symptoms in adolescence are an independent risk factor for memory function in adulthood. The empirical support for the critical period model underscores the importance of implementing early intervention programs and targeted strategies to support adolescents experiencing depressive symptoms.
尽管现有文献表明抑郁症状与成年人的认知功能有关，但对于青少年时期的抑郁症状与成年后记忆功能之间的纵向关联，以及这种关系的潜在机制，了解有限。
本研究旨在确定青少年时期的抑郁症状是否与成年后的记忆功能有关。为了探讨这种关联的潜在机制，本研究采用了一种生命历程方法，检验了关键期、积累和途径模型。
本研究利用了全国青少年纵向健康研究（Add Health）的兄弟姐妹样本数据，采用兄弟姐妹固定效应模型来控制家庭层面未被观察到的异质性。为了测试各种生命历程模型，分析纳入了成年抑郁症状以及一系列行为、心理社会和教育机制变量。
兄弟姐妹固定效应估计表明，青少年时期的抑郁症状与成年早期的记忆功能之间存在纵向关联（b=-0.084，p<0.01）。成年抑郁症状既不能解释也不能加剧这种关联。中介分析表明，教育程度对青少年抑郁症状与成年记忆功能之间的关系有一定程度的解释，约占 11%。综合来看，这些发现支持生命历程方法，特别是关键期模型。
本研究的结果表明，青少年时期的抑郁症状是成年后记忆功能的一个独立风险因素。对关键期模型的实证支持强调了实施早期干预计划和针对有抑郁症状的青少年的目标策略的重要性。
