Joanne Goodall1,2,3, Caroline Fisher4, Sarah Hetrick2,5, Lisa Phillips3, Emma M Parrish6, Kelly Allott7,8. 1. Orygen, The National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, 35 Poplar Road, Parkville, VIC, 3052, Australia. 2. Centre for Youth Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia. 3. Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia. 4. Department of Psychology, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne Health, Parkville, Australia. 5. Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand. 6. Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA. 7. Orygen, The National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, 35 Poplar Road, Parkville, VIC, 3052, Australia. kelly.allott@orygen.org.au. 8. Centre for Youth Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia. kelly.allott@orygen.org.au.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Depression is among the most common mental health problems for young people. In adults, depression is associated with neurocognitive deficits that reduce the effectiveness of treatment and impair educational and vocational functioning. Compared to adults, less is known about the neurocognitive functioning of young people with depression, and existing research has reported inconsistent findings. METHOD: This systematic review and meta-analysis synthesized the literature on neurocognitive functioning in currently depressed youth aged 12-25 years in comparison to healthy controls. RESULTS: Following a systematic review of the literature, 23 studies were included in the meta-analysis. Poorer performance in the domains of attention (SMD: .50, 95% CI: .18-.83, p = .002), verbal memory (SMD: .78, 95% CI: .50-1.0, p < .001), visual memory (SMD: .65, 95% CI: .30-.99, p < .001), verbal reasoning/knowledge (SMD: .46; 95% CI: .14-.79; p < 0.001) and IQ (SMD: .32; 95% CI: .08-.56; p = 0.01) were identified in depressed youth. Relative weaknesses in processing speed/reaction time and verbal learning were also evident, however, these findings disappeared when the quality of studies was controlled for. Moderator analysis showed a tendency for poorer set-shifting ability in younger depressed participants relative to controls (although non-significant; p = .05). Moderator analysis of medication status showed taking medication was associated with poorer attentional functioning compared to those not taking medication. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that currently depressed young people display a range of neurocognitive weaknesses which may impact treatment engagement and outcome. The findings support the need to consider neurocognitive functioning when treating youth with depression.
BACKGROUND:Depression is among the most common mental health problems for young people. In adults, depression is associated with neurocognitive deficits that reduce the effectiveness of treatment and impair educational and vocational functioning. Compared to adults, less is known about the neurocognitive functioning of young people with depression, and existing research has reported inconsistent findings. METHOD: This systematic review and meta-analysis synthesized the literature on neurocognitive functioning in currently depressed youth aged 12-25 years in comparison to healthy controls. RESULTS: Following a systematic review of the literature, 23 studies were included in the meta-analysis. Poorer performance in the domains of attention (SMD: .50, 95% CI: .18-.83, p = .002), verbal memory (SMD: .78, 95% CI: .50-1.0, p < .001), visual memory (SMD: .65, 95% CI: .30-.99, p < .001), verbal reasoning/knowledge (SMD: .46; 95% CI: .14-.79; p < 0.001) and IQ (SMD: .32; 95% CI: .08-.56; p = 0.01) were identified in depressed youth. Relative weaknesses in processing speed/reaction time and verbal learning were also evident, however, these findings disappeared when the quality of studies was controlled for. Moderator analysis showed a tendency for poorer set-shifting ability in younger depressed participants relative to controls (although non-significant; p = .05). Moderator analysis of medication status showed taking medication was associated with poorer attentional functioning compared to those not taking medication. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that currently depressed young people display a range of neurocognitive weaknesses which may impact treatment engagement and outcome. The findings support the need to consider neurocognitive functioning when treating youth with depression.
Entities:
Keywords:
Adolescence; Depression; Neurocognitive function; Young adults
Authors: J N Giedd; J Blumenthal; N O Jeffries; F X Castellanos; H Liu; A Zijdenbos; T Paus; A C Evans; J L Rapoport Journal: Nat Neurosci Date: 1999-10 Impact factor: 24.884
Authors: Ester I Klimkeit; Bruce Tonge; John L Bradshaw; Glenn A Melvin; Kate Gould Journal: Arch Clin Neuropsychol Date: 2011-06-19 Impact factor: 2.813
Authors: Jay C Fournier; Robert J DeRubeis; Richard C Shelton; Steven D Hollon; Jay D Amsterdam; Robert Gallop Journal: J Consult Clin Psychol Date: 2009-08
Authors: Katherine A Brunsberg; Christopher P Landrigan; Briana M Garcia; Carter R Petty; Theodore C Sectish; Arabella L Simpkin; Nancy D Spector; Amy J Starmer; Daniel C West; Sharon Calaman Journal: Acad Med Date: 2019-08 Impact factor: 6.893
Authors: Sara N Rushia; Sophie Schiff; Dakota A Egglefield; Jeffrey N Motter; Alice Grinberg; Daniel G Saldana; Al Amira Safa Shehab; Jin Fan; Joel R Sneed Journal: J Psychiatr Brain Sci Date: 2020-06-19
Authors: Namik Kirlic; Janna M Colaizzi; Kelly T Cosgrove; Zsofia P Cohen; Hung-Wen Yeh; Florence Breslin; Amanda S Morris; Robin L Aupperle; Manpreet K Singh; Martin P Paulus Journal: Child Dev Date: 2021-04-26
Authors: Eric J Connors; Alexander O Hauson; Brianna D Barlet; Sharis Sarkissians; Nicholas P Stelmach; Alyssa D Walker; Natasha M Nemanim; Kristina L Greenwood; Nicholas J Chesher; Scott C Wollman; Kenneth E Allen; Matthew G Hall; Christopher Flora-Tostado Journal: Neuropsychol Rev Date: 2021-01-11 Impact factor: 7.444
Authors: Jordan N Kohn; Matthew Shane Loop; Julie J Kim-Chang; Patricia A Garvie; John W Sleasman; Bernard Fischer; H Jonathon Rendina; Steven Paul Woods; Sharon L Nichols; Suzi Hong Journal: J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr Date: 2021-06-01 Impact factor: 3.771
Authors: Zachary B Millman; Caroline Roemer; Teresa Vargas; Jason Schiffman; Vijay A Mittal; James M Gold Journal: Schizophr Bull Date: 2022-09-01 Impact factor: 7.348
Authors: Catherine Morey-Nase; Lisa J Phillips; Shayden Bryce; Sarah Hetrick; Andrea L Wright; Emma Caruana; Kelly Allott Journal: BMC Psychiatry Date: 2019-07-04 Impact factor: 3.630
Authors: Erica B Baller; Antonia N Kaczkurkin; Aristeidis Sotiras; Azeez Adebimpe; Danielle S Bassett; Monica E Calkins; Ganesh B Chand; Zaixu Cui; Raquel E Gur; Ruben C Gur; Kristin A Linn; Tyler M Moore; David R Roalf; Erdem Varol; Daniel H Wolf; Cedric H Xia; Christos Davatzikos; Theodore D Satterthwaite Journal: Neuropsychopharmacology Date: 2020-10-02 Impact factor: 7.853