'Komitet Redakcyjno - Wydawniczy Polskiego Towarzystwa Psychiatrycznego'
Doi
Abstract
Aim. Nowadays there are numerous reports stressing the occurrence of cognitive functions
disorders in late-life depression (LLD). More and more frequently the studies stress the role of
executive dysfunctions in LLD. The purpose of the study was an evaluation of the components
of executive functions in non-demented LLD patients, as well as an evaluation of the relation
between the individual components of executive functions and the level of depressiveness.
Methods. The study included 87 persons with depression and 100 persons in the control
group. For the purpose of a screening evaluation of cognitive functions the Mini–Mental State
Examination (MMSE) was applied. For the evaluation of the level of executive functions
efficiency the following were chosen: a) Trail Making Test (TMT), b) Verbal Fluency Tests
(VFT) and c) go/no-go task (GNG).
Results. A significant difference was found in the levels of efficiency of all the components
of executive functions in patients with late-life depression. The patients with depression demonstrated
the slowest psychomotor speed and worse results in the tests evaluating cognitive
flexibility, semantic fluency and inhibition. Statistically significant relation was observed between the higher result in GDS-SF (Geriatric Depression Scale – Short Form) and the worse
performance in the GNG test.
Conclusions: The patients with depression demonstrated a significant impairment of executive
functions. A relation was found between the cognitive control disorder and the level
of depressiveness. Executive dysfunctions can play an important role in the persistence of
depressive symptoms. Identification of patients with depression and executive dysfunctions
has significant therapeutic implications