Do depressive symptoms predict cognitive function decline in middle-aged and older adults? A three-wave longitudinal study.

Along with the increasing aging of the population, more attention has been paid to psychosocial problems in the middle-aged and older adults, including depressive symptoms and cognitive function. We explored the relationship between depressive symptoms and cognitive function in the middle-aged and older adults in a large Longitudinal study. The current study utilized longitudinal data from a large Chinese geriatric health database to construct a cross-lagged model with 5758 individuals. The study revealed that depressive symptoms in the Chinese middle-aged and older adults could inversely predict cognitive function at the next time point, while the relationship between cognitive function and depressive symptoms at the next time point was unclear. This study confirmed that higher depressive symptoms accelerate cognitive function decline in a Chinese elderly population. Early intervention for depressive symptoms is beneficial in mitigating the decline in cognitive function with age in the middle-aged and older adult population.