Depressive Symptomatology as a Predictor of Cognitive Impairment: Evidence from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (KLOSA), 2006–2020

Depressive symptoms are recognized as risk factors for cognitive impairment with intricate underlying biological mechanisms. We explored the link between depressive symptoms and cognitive impairment onset; we also assessed how this association is influenced by educational levels. This study included 5843 individuals aged ≥45 years, comprising 27,908 observations from 2006 to 2020. Based on repeated measurements of each participant, we estimated the association between depressive symptoms and cognitive impairment onset after a 2-year follow-up by using generalized estimating equations. The incidence rate was 9.4% among those individuals without depressive symptoms, which was in contrast with a rate of 21.0% among those individuals experiencing depressive symptoms. The odds ratio (OR) (95% confidence interval [CI]) for the association between depressive symptoms and cognitive impairment onset in the overall sample was 1.61 (1.47–1.76). This association was more pronounced among individuals with higher educational levels. Specifically, the OR (95% CI) of the association between depressive symptoms and cognitive impairment was highest among individuals with a college education (2.60 [1.78–3.81]), and the association was lowest among individuals with elementary or no education levels (1.45 [1.28–1.63]). Our findings highlight the idea that although individuals with higher educational backgrounds exhibit a diminished risk of cognitive impairment, the detrimental impacts of depressive symptoms on cognitive performance are particularly more pronounced within this group.