Objective: To assess cognitive performance in elderly depressed patients following treatment for 6 months. Remission rate of depression after 6 months of treatment was calculated.
Methods: The study was performed in a consecutive group of patients aged ≥ 65 years with late-onset depression. Severity of depression was assessed by the Hamilton Depression Scale, cognitive performance by the Hong Kong Montreal Cognitive Assessment, and functional level by the Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale.
Results: A total of 52 patients were recruited. In all, 28 (53.8%) were found to have cognitive impairment at baseline and 8 (28.6%) of them had improvement after 6 months. This cognitively impaired group was older and had a lower Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale score. The remission rate of depression was 61.5%.
Conclusions: Cognitive impairment constituted a stable feature in a considerable number of elderly patients with depression. About two-thirds of patients achieved remission of depression after 6 months of treatment.
Keywords: Age of onset; Depression; Mild cognitive impairment.