Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2008 Feb;16(2):109-15.
doi: 10.1097/JGP.0b013e3180f6338d.

Cognitive performance in suicidal depressed elderly: preliminary report

Alexandre Y Dombrovski  1 , Meryl A Butters, Charles F Reynolds 3rd, Patricia R Houck, Luke Clark, Sati Mazumdar, Katalin Szanto
Affiliations
Case Reports

Cognitive performance in suicidal depressed elderly: preliminary report

Alexandre Y Dombrovski et al. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2008 Feb.

Abstract

Objective: Deficits in executive functions may play an important role in late-life suicide; however the association is understudied. This study examined cognitive function in general and executive functioning specifically in depressed elderly with and without suicidal ideation and attempts.

Design: Case-control study.

Setting: University-affiliated psychiatric hospital.

Participants: We compared 32 suicidal depressed participants aged 60 and older with 32 non-suicidal depressed participants equated for age, education, and gender.

Measurements: We assessed global cognitive function and executive function with the Dementia Rating Scale (DRS) and the Executive Interview (EXIT25), respectively.

Results: Suicidal and non-suicidal depressed groups were comparable in terms of severity of depression and burden of physical illness. Suicidal participants performed worse on the EXIT25, and on the DRS total scale, as well as on Memory and Attention subscales. The differences were not explained by the presence of dementia, substance use, medication exposure, or brain injury from suicide attempts.

Conclusions: Poor performance on tests of executive function, attention, and memory is associated with suicidal behavior in late-life depression.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1. Overall Cognition and Executive Functioning in Suicidal and Non-Suicidal Depressed Elderly
Suicidal participants performed significantly worse than nonsuicidal depressed participants on the DRS total score (ANCOVA, covarying for age: F(1,61)=6.88, p=0.011) and the EXIT25 (F(1,61)=14.96, p=0.0003). *EXIT scores of 15/50 or higher have been correlated with significant functional impairment– DRS: Dementia Rating Scale; EXIT: Executive Interview.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. World Health Organization. Suicide Prevention. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2005.
    1. Office of Statistics and Programming, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. WISQARS Fatal Injuries: Leading Causes of Death Reports. Atlanta: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2004.
    1. De Leo D, Padoani W, Scocco P, et al. Attempted and completed suicide in older subjects: results from the World Health Organization/EURO Multicentre Study of Suicidal Behaviour. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2001;16:300–310. - PubMed
    1. Dombrovski AY, Szanto K, Reynolds CF., 3rd Epidemiology and risk factors for suicide in the elderly: 10-year update. Aging Health. 2005;1:135–145.
    1. Szanto K, Prigerson H, Houck P, et al. Suicidal ideation in elderly bereaved: the role of complicated grief. Suicide Life-Threatening Behav. 1997;27:194–207. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms