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Longitudinal Relationships Between Cognitive Functioning and Depressive Symptoms Among Hispanic Older Adults

¹ Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Florida.
² Department of Education & Applied Quantitative Methods, University of Maine, Orono.
³ College of Education, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Address correspondence to Tatiana Perrino, PsyD, Research Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, 1425 NW 10th Avenue, Room 211, Miami, FL 33136. E-mail: tperrino{at}med.miami.edu

This study examines the relationship between cognitive functioning and depressive symptoms across 3 years in a prospective study of 273 community-dwelling, Hispanic older adults in Miami. The analyses extend the literature by testing for a bidirectional or reciprocal relationship between depressive symptoms and cognitive functioning over time and by examining the relationship between these variables among Hispanics, an understudied population at risk of developing depressive symptoms and cognitive impairments. Structural equation modeling with a cross-lagged panel design showed that depressive symptoms were unrelated to subsequent cognitive functioning. However, cognitive functioning was related to subsequent depressive symptoms at every time point, such that poorer cognitive functioning was related to higher depressive symptoms. Findings suggest that cognitive declines may predict depressive symptoms in community-dwelling Hispanic older adults.

Key Words: Cognitive functioning • Depressive symptoms • Hispanics/Latinos