Depressive symptoms, cognitive impairment, and metabolic syndrome in community-dwelling elderly in Southern Taiwan.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Metabolic syndrome and depression are both thought to be associated with cognitive impairment in the elderly. Metabolic syndrome is also correlated with depression. We examined their possible pathways in a population-based sample. METHODS: We recruited 300 older community participants from Southern Taiwan. Demographics, medical history, severity of depressive symptoms, cognitive function, apolipoprotein genotyping, and lipid profile were collected. The presence of metabolic syndrome was confirmed with the Third Report of the National Cholesterol Education Program's Adult Treatment Panel. Possible relationships between metabolic syndrome, depressive symptoms, and cognitive dysfunction were explored using logistic regression and structured equation modelling. RESULTS: When gender, age, education, marital status, and apolipoprotein genotype were adjusted for logistic regression, metabolic syndrome and depressive symptoms were independent and significant predictors of cognitive dysfunction for community-dwelling elderly. In structural equation modelling, metabolic syndrome and depressive symptoms were correlated to each other, and both contributed to the presence of cognitive dysfunction. CONCLUSIONS: Depressive symptoms and metabolic syndrome are independently associated with cognitive impairment among community-dwelling elderly.