Larger increase in trait negative affect is associated with greater future cognitive decline and vice versa across 23 years

Abstract

Background Trait negative affect (NA) is a central feature of anxiety and depression disorders. Neurocognitive and scar models propose that within‐person increase in NA across one period of time relates to a decline in cognitive functioning at a future period of time and vice versa. Yet, there has been little research on whether a within‐person change in trait NA across one time‐lag precedes and is associated with a change in cognition across a future time lag and vice versa. Due to a growing aging population, such knowledge can inform evidence‐based prevention. Methods Participants were 520 dementia‐free community‐dwelling adults (mean age = 59.76 years [standard deviation = 8.96], 58.08% females). Trait‐level NA (negative emotionality scale), spatial cognition (block design and card rotations), verbal working memory (WM; digit span backward), and processing speed (symbol digit modalities) were assessed at five time points (waves) across 23 years. Bivariate dual latent change score (LCS) approaches were used to adjust for regression to the mean, lagged outcomes, and between‐person variability. Results Unique bivariate LCS models showed that within‐person increase in trait NA across two sequential waves was related to declines in spatial cognition, verbal WM, and processing speed across the subsequent two waves. Moreover, within‐person reductions in spatial cognition, verbal WM, and processing speed across two sequential waves were associated with future increases in trait NA across the subsequent two waves. Conclusions Findings concur with neurobiological and scar theories of psychopathology. Furthermore, results support process‐based emotion regulation models that highlight the importance of verbal WM, spatial cognition, and processing speed capacities for downregulating NA.

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

“…Awareness of within-person prolonged trajectories of increased depression or anxiety, EF decrements, and their covariation may guide the design of personalized prevention, diagnostic, and treatment efforts that rely on idiographic (or within-person) more than between-person data, as part of precision psychiatry (52)(53)(54). It is also important to note that observations of between-and within-person differences in EF and psychopathological symptoms do not always align with each other (55)(56)(57). To broaden and deepen comprehension of EF and mental health in mid-life and older adulthood, within-person (co)variations and change must be considered.…”

“…Two cutting-edge techniques that attain these aims are randomintercept cross-lagged panel models (RI-CLPM) [58] and bivariate dual latent change score models (BLCS) [59]; two forms of longitudinal structural equation modeling (SEM). These longitudinal SEM approaches benefit researchers by accounting for prior lagged relations and regression to the mean, minimizing measurement unreliability, and using all available values instead of listwise deletion [57]. Further, by adjusting for temporally stable betweenperson differences and autoregressive effects, these models can test if change in one variable across a previous time-period or time-lag is associated with change in another variable at the next time-period or time-lag within persons.…”

Heightened Depression and Executive Functioning Bidirectionally Impair One Another: Evidence from Within-Person Latent Change and Cross-Lagged Models

“…Awareness of within-person prolonged trajectories of increased depression or anxiety, EF decrements, and their covariation may guide the design of personalized MENTAL HEALTH AND EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING 6 prevention, diagnostic, and treatment efforts that rely on idiographic (or within-person) more than between-person data, as part of precision psychiatry (52)(53)(54). It is also important to note that observations of between-and within-person differences in EF and psychopathological symptoms do not always align with each other (55)(56)(57). To broaden and deepen comprehension of EF and mental health in mid-life and older adulthood, within-person (co)variations and change must be considered.…”

“…Thus far, three studies of adult participants have tested the longitudinal, dynamic, withinperson relations between EF and anxiety, depression, or pertinent concepts with BLCS. Using BLCS, increase in anxiety was related to cognitive functioning decline in older adults (57); despite that, the two-wave study prevented understanding of how symptom change predicted MENTAL HEALTH AND EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING 7 subsequent EF change (and conversely). Relatedly, BLCS models across three waves showed that 9-year growth in excessive worry dovetailed with future 9-year decline in global and unique EF facets (61); however, whether change in EF forecasted later change in worry was not examined.…”

“…Also, using BLCS, two studies observed that within-person rise in anxiety or trait neuroticism at a time-lag predicted worsened cognitive functioning at the next time-lag (57,116) in communitydwelling Swedish adults. Similarly, another recent BLCS study found that within persons, worse cognitive functioning forecasted increased anxiety and depression across 4 years in patients with…”