Cognition and its association with the factors of the EURO-D: Suffering and Motivation. Findings from SHARE Wave 6

Abstract

Objective The aims of this study were (1) to analyse the relationship between cognition and clinical and sociodemographic variables, (2) to explore the relationship between cognitive tests and factors of EURO‐D depression scale (Suffering and Motivation), and (3) to determine the relevance of cognition with respect to clinical and sociodemographic variables in the scores of the EURO‐D factors. Method: About 63 755 participants in the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) Wave 6 (2015) were included. Instruments are as follows: the SHARE study, the EURO‐D scale, and cognitive tests. Bivariate, correlation, and multiple linear regression analyses were performed. Results: In the regression analysis with cognition, the variables associated with poor cognition were higher age (β = .29), lower educational level (β = −.26), economic difficulties (β = .17), and depression (β = .10). The correlation between cognition and EURO‐D factors was weak in Suffering (r = −0.139) and moderate in Motivation (r = −0.382). In the regression analysis with the EURO‐D, loneliness, poor self‐perceived physical health, female gender, and low cognition were associated with higher depression levels. The main differences in the predictor variables of each factor were cognition (Motivation = −0.248, P < .001; Suffering = 0.002, P = .648) and the female sex (Motivation = 0.015, P < .001, Suffering = 0.175, P < .001). Conclusions: In the EURO‐D depression scale, poor cognition was associated with higher scores in the Motivation factor only, while the female gender presented higher scores in the Suffering factor