The body of evidence of late-life depression: the complex relationship between depressive symptoms, movement, dyspnea and cognition

ABSTRACT

Background

Physical symptoms play an important role in late-life depression and may contribute to residual symptomatology after antidepressant treatment. In this exploratory study, we examined the role of specific bodily dimensions including movement, respiratory functions, fear of falling, cognition, and physical weakness in older people with depression.

Methods

Clinically stable older patients with major depression within a Psychiatric Consultation-Liaison program for Primary Care underwent comprehensive assessment of depressive symptoms, instrumental movement analysis, dyspnea, weakness, activity limitations, cognitive function, and fear of falling. Network analysis was performed to explore the unique adjusted associations between clinical dimensions.

Results

Sadness was associated with worse turning and walking ability and movement transitions from walking to sitting, as well as with worse general cognitive abilities. Sadness was also connected with dyspnea, while neurovegetative depressive burden was connected with activity limitations.

Discussion

Limitations of motor and cognitive function, dyspnea, and weakness may contribute to the persistence of residual symptoms of late-life depression.

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the study participants for their engagement. The dataset of the current study is not available for the scientific community as (i) informed consent has not been provided for this purpose and (ii) additional analyses are currently being performed. Analyses carried out in this paper were not pre-specified. The analytic code file is available upon request.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Description of Authors’ Roles

Dr. Belvederi Murri had full access to all the data in the study and took responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis. Concept and design: Belvederi Murri, Triolo, Chiari Zanetidou. Acquisition of the data: Nerozzi, Padula, Assirelli, Ermini, Bagnoli, Donato Zocchi, Tripi, Zanetidou. Data Analysis: Belvederi Murri, Coni. Interpretation of data: all authors. Drafting of the manuscript: Belvederi Murri, Triolo. Critical revision of the manuscript and approval of final draft: all authors.

Supplemental data

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/0361073X.2023.2196504

Additional information

Funding

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.