Association of depressive symptoms with impaired episodic memory in patients with Parkinson's disease

ABSTRACT Objective: To evaluate the correlation of depressive symptoms and impaired episodic memory in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Methods: This is a cross-sectional, non-probabilistic and intentional study. Individuals diagnosed with PD and aged 60 years or older, who were enrolled at two movement disorders outpatient clinics in the city of Maceió, AL, were selected. 62 elderly people were selected, divided into two groups, 40 with symptoms of depression and 22 without symptoms of depression. A sociodemographic questionnaire, Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15 reduced version), the Rey Auditory-Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) were used. Results: In view of the sample of 62 elderly people, there was a high prevalence of female elderly, 64.5% with a mean age of 66.72 years (±5.12). Regarding sociodemographic data, a statistically significant difference was identified between groups only in the use of antidepressants (p < 0.001) and in relation to clinical characteristics, there was a difference in relation to episodic memory (RAVLT) (p < 0.001) of MoCA (p = 0.018) and in the abstraction (p = 0.044) and executive function (p = 0.021) domains of MoCA. Regarding the relationship between depressive symptoms and impaired episodic memory, a moderate inverse correlation was identified (r = −0.575; p < 0.001). Conclusion: PD associated with depressive symptoms presents impairments in episodic memory when compared to those without symptoms. In addition, it is possible to identify that the levels of depressive symptoms are directly proportional to the loss of episodic memory.

摘要
研究目的：评估帕金森病（Parkinson's disease, PD）患者的抑郁症状与情景记忆损伤的相关性。
研究方法：本研究为横断面、非概率目的性研究。研究对象为纳入巴西阿拉戈斯州马塞约市两家运动障碍门诊的60岁及以上确诊帕金森病患者，最终共纳入62名老年受试者，分为两组：伴抑郁症状组40例，无抑郁症状组22例。研究采用社会人口学问卷、老年抑郁量表15项简版（Geriatric Depression Scale, GDS-15）、雷伊听觉言语学习测试（Rey Auditory-Verbal Learning Test, RAVLT）以及蒙特利尔认知评估量表（Montreal Cognitive Assessment, MoCA）开展评估。
研究结果：本研究纳入的62名老年受试者中，女性占比64.5%，平均年龄为66.72岁（±5.12）。社会人口学数据显示，两组仅在抗抑郁药物使用情况上存在统计学差异（p < 0.001）；临床特征方面，两组在情景记忆（RAVLT）（p < 0.001）、蒙特利尔认知评估量表总分（p = 0.018）以及MoCA的抽象思维（p = 0.044）与执行功能（p = 0.021）维度上均存在显著差异。针对抑郁症状与情景记忆损伤的相关性分析显示，二者呈中等程度负相关（r = −0.575; p < 0.001）。
研究结论：伴抑郁症状的帕金森病患者相较于无抑郁症状者，存在情景记忆损伤；且抑郁症状严重程度与情景记忆减退程度呈正相关。