Longitudinal relationships between cognitive functioning and depressive symptoms among Hispanic older adults

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between cognitive functioning and depressive symptoms across 3 years in a prospective study of 273 community-dwelling, Hispanic older adults in Miami. The analyses extend the literature by testing for a bidirectional or reciprocal relationship between depressive symptoms and cognitive functioning over time and by examining the relationship between these variables among Hispanics, an understudied population at risk of developing depressive symptoms and cognitive impairments. Structural equation modeling with a cross-lagged panel design showed that depressive symptoms were unrelated to subsequent cognitive functioning. However, cognitive functioning was related to subsequent depressive symptoms at every time point, such that poorer cognitive functioning was related to higher depressive symptoms. Findings suggest that cognitive declines may predict depressive symptoms in community-dwelling Hispanic older adults. Copyright 2008 by The Gerontological Society of America.