Jacqueline Mogle & Nikki Hill
Jacqueline Mogle is an Assistant Research Professor in the Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center and Nikki Hill is an Assistant Professor in the College of Nursing at Pennsylvania State University. Together, their work examines different pathways to non-normative cognitive decline (e.g., dementia). They are interested in identifying modifiable risk factors of these pathways and developing early interventions that could help preserve cognitive functioning in older adults.
Memory decline and depression in older adults: Is it a chicken and egg question or can we identify a directional relationship?
Older adults often report memory problems even when cognitive testing is normal. A new analysis in BMC Geriatrics shows that healthcare providers should take note of these memory complaints as they can predict later depressive symptoms. In this blog post, the authors of this study explain how they reached this finding and what it means.
As people grow older, they may experience changes in their memory, like forgetting an appointment or someone’s name, leading to concerns about their memory functioning. And older adults sometimes report having memory problems despite performing normally on memory tests, such as those conducted by their doctor. Even if cognitive testing is normal, subjective memory complaints are important to consider as they might be an early indicator of more serious problems with memory and cognition or psychological stress such as depression or anxiety. Older adults can have memory complaints as well as typical symptoms of depression, making it difficult for healthcare providers to determine how these symptoms are related. It is unclear from the current research whether, in older adults with both depressive symptoms and memory complaints, depressive symptoms lead to problems with memory or whether the perception of memory problems contributes to the development of depressive symptoms.
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