Cognitive functioning is disrupted during a depressive episode and cognitive dysfunction persists when depression is in remission. A subtype of depressed individuals who exhibit elevated inflammatory biomarkers may be at particular risk for cognitive dysfunction. We examined whether an elevated inflammatory biomarker (C-reactive protein: CRP) in acute and/or remitted depression was associated with specific deficits in executive functioning, episodic memory, and verbal fluency. Data were drawn from a population-based sample of Dutch adolescents (N = 1,066; 46% male) recruited at the age of 11 and followed over the course of eight years. We tested whether adolescents with either, (i) a history of depression (Wave 1 - 3) or (ii) current depression (Wave 4), and elevated levels of C-reactive protein measured in blood at Wave 3 performed worse on cognitive assessments at Wave 4. Eight measures of cognitive functioning were hypothesized to load on to one of three dimensions of cognitive functioning (executive functioning, episodic memory, and verbal fluency) within a structural equation model framework. Higher levels of CRP were associated with worse future executive functioning in adolescents with and without current/prior depression. A current depression diagnosis also was associated with worse future executive functioning. There was consistent evidence linking low socioeconomic status and health-related covariates (high body mass index/sedentary behavior) with worse performance across multiple measures of cognitive functioning and, importantly, the association of depression/CRP and executive functioning was no longer significant when controlling for these covariates. Future studies may benefit from investigating whether specific depressogenic behaviors (e.g., sedentary behavior/substance use) mediate a relationship between depression and worse executive functioning, potentially via a prospective pathway through elevated inflammation.

中文翻译：

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在大量荷兰青少年样本中，调查 C 反应蛋白升高的抑郁青少年在执行功能、语言流利度和情景记忆方面是否表现较差


抑郁发作期间认知功能会受到干扰，而抑郁缓解时认知功能障碍仍然存在。炎症生物标志物升高的抑郁症患者亚型可能面临认知功能障碍的特殊风险。我们检查了急性和/或缓解性抑郁症中炎症生物标志物（C 反应蛋白：CRP）升高是否与执行功能、情景记忆和语言流畅性的特定缺陷相关。数据取自 11 岁时招募的荷兰青少年人口样本（N = 1,066；46% 为男性），并进行了为期八年的跟踪调查。我们测试了患有 (i) 抑郁症病史（第 1 - 3 波）或 (ii) 当前抑郁症（第 4 波）以及第 3 波血液中 C 反应蛋白水平升高的青少年在认知评估中的表现是否较差第 4 波。假设认知功能的八种测量方法会在结构方程模型框架内加载到认知功能的三个维度（执行功能、情景记忆和语言流畅性）之一。对于当前/未患有抑郁症的青少年来说，较高水平的 CRP 与未来执行功能较差有关。当前的抑郁症诊断也与未来执行功能较差有关。有一致的证据表明，低社会经济地位和健康相关的协变量（高体重指数/久坐行为）与多种认知功能指标的较差表现有关，重要的是，在控制时，抑郁/CRP 与执行功能的关联不再显着对于这些协变量。未来的研究可能会受益于调查特定的抑郁行为（例如、久坐行为/物质使用）可能通过炎症升高的前瞻性途径介导抑郁症和较差的执行功能之间的关系。