Cognitive function following a major depressive episode: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Publication date: Available online 15 August 2019Source: The Lancet PsychiatryAuthor(s): Maria Semkovska, Lisa Quinlivan, Tara O'Grady, Rebecca Johnson, Aisling Collins, Jessica O'Connor, Hannah Knittle, Elayne Ahern, Taylor GloadSummaryBackgroundSubstantial evidence suggests that cognitive deficits might persist after remission of a major depressive episode. However, results are inconsistent relative to the importance, pattern, severity, and moderating factors of this impairment. We aimed to determine how cognitive function following a major depressive episode compares with normal function, to specify the pattern and severity of persistent cognitive dysfunctions, and to examine the potential moderator effect of ten prespecified clinical and demographic variables.MethodsWe did a systematic review and meta-analysis of the published research. We searched systematically MEDLINE, Embase, PsycARTICLES, PsycINFO, the Cochrane Library, and relevant reviews identified by our database search, for research published from Jan 1, 1972, up to Jan 31, 2018, for studies of patients with past depression. We included all independent studies of patients who were assessed while in remission from a major depressive episode with at least one cognitive test, with inclusion of a healthy control group assessed with either the same test(s) as the major depressive episode group or with a standardised test with published age-stratified normative data. The main outcome was the difference in cognitive pe...
Source: The Lancet Psychiatry - Category: Psychiatry Source Type: research