The effect of cognitive function heterogeneity on depression risk in older adults: a stratified analysis based on functional status

Front Public Health. 2025 Aug 18;13:1624599. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1624599. eCollection 2025.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUNDS: The mechanisms linking depression and cognitive decline in older adults in the context of global aging are unclear, and functional status may modulate the relationship. This study aimed to reveal the heterogeneity of cognitive functioning in older adults under different physical functional states through latent profile analysis (LPA) and to explore the patterns associated with depressive symptoms.

METHODS: Based on the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) 2020 data, 4,158 older adults ≥60 years old were included, and the subtypes of cognitive functions (immediate memory, delayed memory, calculative ability, orientation, and visual construction) were classified by LPA. The associations between different cognitive categories and depressive symptoms were analyzed by stepwise logistic regression. The samples were stratified according to the physical functioning status into “functional intactness “and “functional impairment.”

RESULTS: In the functional intactness group, LPA identified three cognitive profiles, and the risk of depression was significantly higher in the low cognitive function with severe calculative impairment group (19.1%) (OR = 1.52, 95% CI: 1.21-1.91); in the functional impairment group, LPA identified four cognitive profiles, and the risk of depression in the low cognitive function with severe calculative impairment group (21.3%) was 3.37 times higher than that in the high cognitive function group (95% CI: 2.40-4.74), and the low cognitive function with impaired calculative ability group was independently associated with depression risk (OR = 2.65, 95% CI: 1.77-3.94). The strength of the association between low cognition and depression was significantly higher in the functionally impaired population than in the functionally intact population (B-value: 1.25 vs. 0.42, both p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION: Cognitive function heterogeneity significantly affects depression risk through functional status stratification, impaired functioning exacerbates the predictive role of low cognitive functioning for depression, and calculative impairment may be an early marker of executive function impairment. The findings provide a basis for the precise identification of people at high risk of depression and the development of stratified intervention strategies.

PMID:40900709 | PMC:PMC12401062 | DOI:10.3389/fpubh.2025.1624599