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Vascular risk and depression in outpatients at Groote Schuur Hospital memory clinic

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 59-67).

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Main Author: Kinnear, H
Other Authors: Thomas, Kevin
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Department of Psychology 2014
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access_status_str Open Access
author Kinnear, H
author2 Thomas, Kevin
author_browse Kinnear, H
Thomas, Kevin
author_facet Thomas, Kevin
Kinnear, H
author_sort Kinnear, H
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description Includes bibliographical references (leaves 59-67).
format Thesis
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institution University of Cape Town (South Africa)
language eng
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:39:36.450Z
license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
publishDate 2014
publishDateRange 2014
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publisher Department of Psychology
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spelling oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/8972 Vascular risk and depression in outpatients at Groote Schuur Hospital memory clinic Kinnear, H Thomas, Kevin Clinical Psychology Includes bibliographical references (leaves 59-67). Background and Objective: Depression in the elderly has been linked with stroke, and with white matter lesions, particularly in frontal-subcortical regions responsible for mood regulation. Such evidence of vascular disease has in turn been associated with vascular risk factors such as diabetes, hypertension, smoking, high cholesterol and heart disease. The vascular depression hypothesis (Alexopoulos et al., 1997) proposes that individuals with late-onset depression and vascular risk factors have more apathy, fewer ideational symptoms, and more functional and cognitive impairment. Recent studies offer only limited support for this proposal, perhaps due to lack of comparability of studies, lack of control for factors such as age, medical co-morbidity and functional impairment, and exclusion of patients with cognitive impairment. The current study aimed to test the vascular depression hypothesis in a non-Western sample by examining (a) whether a specific depression symptom profile exists in patients with vascular risk factors, and (b) the relationship between vascular risk, depression and cognitive and functional ability. Method: Retrospective data were gathered from 184 individuals (age>= 55, MMSE >= 17) who had been evaluated at the Groote Schuur Hospital Memory Clinic. Correlational and multiple regression analyses tested relationships between a cumulative vascular risk index, scores on the Cornell Scale for Depression and the Bristol Activities of Daily Living Scale, physical evidence of heart disease and 4 executive function tests (Trail Making Test, category fluency, CLOX I, and an initiation/perseveration index). Results: Vascular risk and depression were significantly related, even after controlling for age and functional impairment. However, using a vascular risk model of vascular depression, the data provided no further support for the vascular depression hypothesis either in terms of (a) a specific depression profile, or (b) the impact of vascular risk and depression on cognitive and functional impairment. There were, however, significant relationships between heart disease and executive function measures, and between all cognitive measures and ADL functioning. Conclusion: The current findings imply there may be a threshold of severity of vascular burden before clinically significant symptoms become apparent. However, the findings may also be explained by a common underlying mechanism (either biological or psychosocial) linking vascular disease and depression. Prospective longitudinal studies are required to clarify causal mechanisms. 2014-10-30T13:53:18Z 2014-10-30T13:53:18Z 2009 Master Thesis Masters MA http://hdl.handle.net/11427/8972 eng application/pdf Department of Psychology Faculty of Humanities University of Cape Town
spellingShingle Clinical Psychology
Kinnear, H
Vascular risk and depression in outpatients at Groote Schuur Hospital memory clinic
thesis_degree_str Master's
title Vascular risk and depression in outpatients at Groote Schuur Hospital memory clinic
title_full Vascular risk and depression in outpatients at Groote Schuur Hospital memory clinic
title_fullStr Vascular risk and depression in outpatients at Groote Schuur Hospital memory clinic
title_full_unstemmed Vascular risk and depression in outpatients at Groote Schuur Hospital memory clinic
title_short Vascular risk and depression in outpatients at Groote Schuur Hospital memory clinic
title_sort vascular risk and depression in outpatients at groote schuur hospital memory clinic
topic Clinical Psychology
url http://hdl.handle.net/11427/8972
work_keys_str_mv AT kinnearh vascularriskanddepressioninoutpatientsatgrooteschuurhospitalmemoryclinic