To identify cognitive phenotypes in late-life depression (LLD) and describe relationships with sociodemographic and clinical characteristics.

Observational cohort study

Baseline data from participants recruited via clinical referrals and community advertisements who enrolled in two separate studies.

Non-demented adults with LLD (n = 120; mean age = 66.73 ± 5.35 years) and non-depressed elders (n = 56; mean age = 67.95 ± 6.34 years).

All completed a neuropsychological battery, and individual cognitive test scores were standardized across the entire sample without correcting for demographics. Five empirically derived cognitive domain composites were created, and cluster analytic approaches (hierarchical, k-means) were independently conducted to classify cognitive patterns in the depressed cohort only. Baseline sociodemographic and clinical characteristics were then compared across groups.

A three-cluster solution best reflected the data, including “High Normal” (n = 47), “Reduced Normal” (n = 35), and “Low Executive Function” (n = 37) groups. The “High Normal” group was younger, more educated, predominantly Caucasian, and had fewer vascular risk factors and higher Mini-Mental Status Examination compared to “Low Executive Function” group. No differences were observed on other sociodemographic or clinical characteristics. Exploration of the “High Normal” group found two subgroups that only differed in attention/working memory performance and length of the current depressive episode.

Three cognitive phenotypes in LLD were identified that slightly differed in sociodemographic and disease-specific variables, but not in the quality of specific symptoms reported. Future work on these cognitive phenotypes will examine relationships to treatment response, vulnerability to cognitive decline, and neuroimaging markers to help disentangle the heterogeneity seen in this patient population

识别晚年抑郁症 (LLD) 的认知表型并描述其与社会人口统计学和临床​​特征的关系。

观察性队列研究

通过临床转介和社区广告招募参加两项独立研究的参与者的基线数据。

患有 LLD 的非痴呆成年人（n = 120；平均年龄 = 66.73 ± 5.35 岁）和非抑郁老年人（n = 56；平均年龄 = 67.95 ± 6.34 岁）。

所有人都完成了神经心理学电池测试，并且在整个样本中对个人认知测试分数进行了标准化，而没有对人口统计数据进行校正。创建了五个基于经验的认知领域复合材料，并独立进行聚类分析方法（分层、k均值），仅对抑郁人群的认知模式进行分类。然后比较各组的基线社会人口统计学和临床​​特征。

三簇解决方案最能反映数据，包括“高正常”( n = 47)、“低正常”( n = 35) 和“低执行功能”( n = 37) 组。与“低执行功能”组相比，“高正常”组更年轻，受教育程度更高，主要是白种人，血管危险因素更少，简易精神状态检查更高。在其他社会人口统计学或临床特征上没有观察到差异。对“高正常”组的探索发现两个亚组仅在注意力/工作记忆表现和当前抑郁发作的长度方面有所不同。

确定了 LLD 的三种认知表型，它们在社会人口统计学和疾病特定变量方面略有不同，但在报告的特定症状的质量方面没有差异。未来对这些认知表型的研究将检查与治疗反应、认知能力下降的脆弱性和神经影像标记的关系，以帮助理清该患者群体中观察到的异质性