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Psychiatria Danubina, Vol. 27 No. 1, 2015.

Original scientific paper

COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS IN FIRST-EPISODE DEPRESSION AND RECURRENT DEPRESSIVE DISORDER

Monika Talarowska ; Department of Adult Psychiatry, Medical University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland
Marlena Zajączkowska ; Department of Adult Psychiatry, Medical University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland
Piotr Gałecki ; Department of Adult Psychiatry, Medical University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland

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Abstract

Background: Cognitive deficits in the course of depressive disorders affect mainly memory, attention and the frontal functions.
They are associated with both an earlier onset of symptoms and prolonged episodes. The main aim of the study was to verify the
hypothesis of differences in the effectiveness of cognitive processes between patients with a first episode of depression (ED-I) and
recurrent depressive disorders (rDD).
Subjects and methods: The study comprised 210 subjects: patients with ED-I (n=60) and patients with rDD (n=150). The
assessment of cognitive functions was based on performance of the Trail Making Test, the Stroop Test, the Verbal Fluency Test, the
California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT) and the digit span from WAIS-R.
Results: There were no statistically significant differences between the analysed groups in the severity of depressive symptoms.
The negative impact of depressive symptoms on the effectiveness of cognitive functions was observed. The ED-I group recorded
better results compared to the rDD group in terms of the speed of information processing, visual-spatial and auditory-verbal memory
and executive functions, auditory-verbal immediate and delayed memory, ability to learn and verbal fluency. The same differences
were observed with respect to the patients from the ED-I group and the patients with the second episode of depression (ED-II) in the
course of rDD.
Conclusions: There are significant differences in cognitive functioning of patients with a depressive episode and recurrent
depressive disorders. These differences are already visible from the second episode of a major depressive disorder. Memory, verbal
fluency and frontal functions are reduced.

Keywords

depressive disorders - recurrent depression - cognitive functions

Hrčak ID:

155887

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/155887

Publication date:

9.3.2015.

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