ArticleThe British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science2019
Longitudinal associations of affective symptoms with mid-life cognitive function: evidence from a British birth cohort.
Article in The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed.
- Contribution of accumulative affective problems across the life course towards the association of childhood socioeconomic position with later-life cognitive ageing.European journal of ageing · 2026Article
- Longitudinal associations of psychological distress with subsequent cognitive decline and dementia: a multi-cohort study.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026Article
- The Power of Birth Cohorts to Study Risk Factors for Cognitive Impairment.Current neurology and neuroscience reports · 2022Review
- Salivary cortisol in longitudinal associations between affective symptoms and midlife cognitive function: A British birth cohort study.Journal of psychiatric research · 2022Article
- Differences in Subjective Memory Impairment, Depressive Symptoms, Sleep, and Physical Activity in African American and Asian American Elderly.Brain sciences · 2021Article
- Depression, dementia and immune dysregulation.Brain : a journal of neurology · 2021Article
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6 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundAffective disorders are associated with poorer cognition in older adults; however, whether this association can already be observed in mid-life remains unclear.
aimsTo investigate the effects of affective symptoms over a period of 30 years on mid-life cognitive function. First, we explored whether timing (sensitive period) or persistence (accumulation) of affective symptoms predicted cognitive function. Second, we tested how different longitudinal trajectories of affective symptoms were associated with cognitive function.
methodThe study used data from the National Child Development Study. Memory, verbal fluency, information processing speed and accuracy were measured at age 50. Affective symptoms were measured at ages 23, 33, 42 and 50 and used to derive longitudinal trajectories. A structured modelling approach compared a set of nested models in order to test accumulation versus sensitive period hypotheses. Linear regressions and structural equation modelling were used to test for longitudinal associations of affective symptoms with cognitive function.
resultsAccumulation of affective symptoms was found to be the best fit for the data, with persistent affective symptoms being associated with poorer immediate memory (b = -0.07, s.e. = 0.03, P = 0.01), delayed memory (b = -0.13, s.e. = 0.04, P < 0.001) and information processing accuracy (b = 0.18, s.e. = 0.08, P = 0.03), but not with information processing speed (b = 3.15, s.e. = 1.89, P = 0.10). Longitudinal trajectories of repeated affective symptoms were associated with poorer memory, verbal fluency and information processing accuracy.
conclusionsPersistent affective symptoms can affect cognitive function in mid-life. Effective management of affective disorders to prevent recurrence may reduce risk of poor cognitive outcomes and promote healthy cognitive ageing. DECLARATION OF INTEREST: None.
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