Abstract
Purpose: :
To investigate whether mood variability predicts dementia in patients with age related macular degeneration (ARMD)
Methods: :
The Geriatric Depression Scale Testing (GDS) was administered every 2 weeks for 6 months to subjects. The Informant Questionnaire for Cognitive Decline in the Elderly (IQCODE) was administered to subjects' knowledgeable informants.
Results: :
Twenty-three subjects (14.4%) declined cognitively. Age, education, and variability in GDS scores were associated with cognitive decline. After controlling for age and education each 1 unit increase in the residual deviation of the GDS increased the risk for cognitive decline by 93%. Thus, subjects with residual standard deviation of 1 were nearly twice as likely to become demented as subjects with no variability in GDS scores. The risk for subjects with standard deviations of 2 increased more than threefold. A multiple regression analysis showed that GDS variability was a significant risk factor for dementia after controlling for significant covariates.
Conclusions: :
These data suggest a useful approach to conceptualizing and measuring depressive symptoms in older persons. Variability in self-reported mood may be an early sign of dementia and may offer new insights into the neurobiological mechanisms linking depression and cognition.
Keywords: age-related macular degeneration • clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: prevalence/incidence • aging