Effects of between-person differences and within-person changes in symptoms of anxiety and depression on older age cognitive performance

Abstract

BackgroundAnxiety and depression are both important correlates of cognitive function. However, longitudinal studies investigating how they covary with cognition within the same individual are scarce. We aimed to simultaneously estimate associations of between-person differences and within-person variability in anxiety and depression with cognitive performance in a sample of non-demented older people.MethodsParticipants in the Lothian Birth Cohort 1921 study, a population-based narrow-age sample (mean age at wave 1 = 79 years, n = 535), were examined on five occasions across 13 years. Anxiety and depression were measured with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and cognitive performance was assessed with tests of reasoning, logical memory, and letter fluency. Data were analyzed using two-level linear mixed-effects models with within-person centering.ResultsDivergent patterns were observed for anxiety and depression. For anxiety, between-person differences were more influential; people who scored higher on HADS anxiety relative to other same-aged individuals demonstrated poorer cognitive performance on average. For depression, on the other hand, time-varying within-person differences were more important; scoring higher than usual on HADS depression was associated with poorer cognitive performance relative to the average level for that participant. Adjusting for gender, childhood mental ability, emotional stability, and disease burden attenuated these associations.ConclusionsThe results from this study highlight the importance of addressing both between- and within-person effects of negative mood and suggest that anxiety and depression affect cognitive function in different ways. The current findings have implications for assessment and treatment of older age cognitive deficits.

Anxiety, depression, physical symptoms, and activity in patients with hematological malignancy undergoing chemotherapy: A cross-sectional study

“…Significant relationships between anxiety and age, nausea, and cognitive functioning were detected in patients with hematological malignancy. Consistently, it was previously reported that anxiety increase with age in healthy people [27,36,37]. The relationship between nausea and anxiety is likely identical to that of nausea and depression (explained above).…”

Depression and executive functioning bidirectionally impair one another across 9 years: Evidence from within-person latent change and cross-lagged models

“…Results also extended an early seminal cross-sectional study [98] which observed that whereas patients with (vs. without) depression performed poorly on auditory and visual WM tasks, patients with anxiety disorders attained scores comparable to healthy controls. Findings also built on hierarchical linear modeling results that whereas inverse EF-depression relations tended to predominate within persons, negative EF-anxiety associations tended to be larger between persons [99]. The divergence between within-and between-person findings for anxiety is likely due to the fact that between-person analyses do not account for individual differences in person-specific changes across time.…”

“…Table 4 shows the model parameter estimates for the RI-CLPM evaluating the cross- Findings also built on hierarchical linear modeling results that whereas inverse EF-depression relations tend to predominate within-persons, negative EF-anxiety associations tend to be larger between-persons (100). The divergence between within-and between-person findings for anxiety is likely due to the fact that between person analyses do not account for individual differences in person-specific changes across time.…”

Can anxiety be a predictor of task-oriented cognitive function in individuals over 60 years of age?: a systematic review

“…Two papers examined the relationship between anxiety and self-efficacy and the cognitive level [25,26]. The cognitive functions considered in the studies were as follows: seven studies examined memory and/or executive process [3,10,[21][22][23][24]27]; two studies indicated a linked engagement bias for emotional information [11,20]; two papers considered compensation strategies or computer use levels [25,26]. most of the studies were conducted as cohort type longitudinal studies rather than phenomenological analyses.…”

“…Four studies showed that cognitive problems in people with anxiety depend on the severity of anxiety: mild anxiety seems to affect cognitive functioning positively. However, some studies indicated that the coexistence of symptoms of anxiety and depression was associated with deficits in semantic memory, episodic memory and processing speed/shifting attention [22][23][24]27]. although previous studies have referred to the relationship between anxiety, memory and executive functioning, the results are inconsistent or partial.…”