B – 22 Cognition and Depression: Exploring Cross-Domain Correlations of Affective, Cognitive, and Somatic Symptoms

Abstract Objective Depression is one of most prevalent mental health disorders in the United States. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) is a common measure of self-report depressive symptoms and shows high reliability and capacity to discriminate between depressed and non-depressed individuals. The Medical Outcome Study (MOS) is a tool used to measure and monitor various patient health outcomes, including cognitive status. In the present study, we assessed the association between the BDI subscales of affective, cognition and somatic symptoms and the cognitive subscale of the MOS. Method Data was obtained from a sample of 141 college students in the Psychology Participant Pool at Loyola Marymount University, via the Human Performance and Cognition Laboratory. A battery of neuropsychological tests and surveys, including the MOS and BDI, were administered. A total number of 96 participants had data for both these surveys. Results Higher MOS Cog scores (indicating better cognitive status) were strongly associated with lower affective (r = -.68, p < .001), cognitive (r = -.59, p < .001), and somatic (r = -.45, p < .001) symptoms. Furthermore, all BDI sub scales were significantly and positively interrelated, indicating a high degree of symptom overlap: affective and cognitive (r = .67, p < .001), affective and somatic (r = .63, p < .001), and cognitive and somatic (r = .59, p < .001). Conclusion These findings suggest that reduced cognitive functioning is linked to greater depressive symptom burden across emotional, mental, and physical domains. The results underscore the importance of cognitive health in the assessment and treatment of depression.