The Impact of Late-Life Psychological Disorders on the Risk of Cognitive Impairment: Evidence From a 5-Year Prospective Cohort Study

BackgroundPsychological disorders and cognitive impairment frequently co-occur in older adults, posing challenges to healthy aging. This study aimed to examine the association between late-life psychological disorders and the risk of developing cognitive impairment.MethodsProspective study analyzed data from 28,706 older adults enrolled in the Taipei City Older Adults Health Examination (2012-2016), among whom 10.3% developed cognitive impairment during follow-up. Psychological disorders were assessed using the five-item Brief Symptom Rating Scale (BSRS-5), and cognitive impairment was evaluated with the Ascertain Dementia eight-item Questionnaire (AD-8). Cox proportional hazards models were applied to estimate the associations.ResultsPsychological disorder severity exhibited a dose-response relationship with cognitive impairment risk. Compared to participants without disorders, those with mild, moderate, and severe symptoms had 2.47-, 3.99-, and 8.60-fold increased risks of cognitive impairment, respectively.ConclusionEarly identification and targeted interventions for psychological disorders may mitigate the risk of cognitive decline and promote healthy aging.