B – 91 Word-Finding Complaints and Depression: Are They Connected?

Abstract Objective Subjective word-finding complaints (WFC) are common among individuals with affective symptoms. This study examined the relationship between WFC and depression severity in a veteran sample without cognitive disorders. Method From a VA clinical database, 56 veterans met inclusion criteria: documented WFC-status (yes/no), valid test performance, cognitive and psychotic disorder ruled out, and completed depression screening (Beck Depression Inventory-II [BDI-II] or Geriatric Depression Scale-Short Form [GDS-SF]). Depression ratings were categorized into severity levels (normal/minimal, mild, moderate, severe) and also dichotomized into clinically-significant vs. subclinical symptoms. Chi-square assessed differences in depression severity across WFC-status; independent-samples t-tests and nonparametric tests examined differences in depression ratings by WFC-status. Results Participant age ranged from 27 to 76 (M=56.86; SD=11.2); 66% endorsed WFC and 58.9% reported at least mild depression symptoms. WFC were more frequent among individuals with higher depression severity (χ2= 10.55, p= .014). Follow-up analyses restricted to participants with at least mild symptoms found a higher proportion of WFC among those with clinically significant depression (81.8%) compared to those with subclinical symptoms (47.4%), χ2= 6.72, p= .010. Younger veterans with WFC had significantly higher BDI-II scores (M=23.42, SD=10.02) than those without (M=8.80, SD=6.38), t(22)= -3.08, p= .003; older veterans with WFC also had higher GDS-SF scores (M=7.72, SD=4.68) than those without (M=2.64, SD=2.50), t(26.7)= -3.81, p< .001. Conclusion Findings suggest that subjective WFC are common and associated with greater depressive symptom severity. These results emphasize the importance of affective screening in the evaluation of subjective cognitive concerns and may inform differential diagnosis and treatment planning.