Impact of depression on cognitive performance of brain tumour patients

Abstract

Background. Depression is common complication in brain tumour (BT) patients. Both depression and BT may cause decreased cognitive performance. This study aimed to compare cognitive performance of BT patients with and without depression. Methods. Sixty-three patients (18 [28.6%] glioma, 32 [50.8%] meningioma, 13 [20.6%] other types of BT), admitted for elective BT surgery were assessed using Trail Making Test (TMT), Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) and phonemic and semantic fluency tasks. Presence of depression was evaluated using The Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview. Findings. Twenty-two (35%) patients met diagnostic criteria for current Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), and 14 (22%) reported episodes of depression in the past. Fifty-nine percent of patients with current MDD and 71% of patients with past MDD were diagnosed with meningioma. No significant differences were observed in cognitive performance of patients with different types of tumours. Partial correlation analysis controlling for age revealed that current MDD was related to lower verbal fluency (r=-0.33, p<0.05). MDD episodes in the past were related to decreased psychomotor speed and executive functioning (TMT, Part A, r=0.34, p<0.05; Part B, r=0.51, p<0.01), and recognition errors (RAVLT, r=0.31, p<0.05). Discussion. Current depression has negative impact on verbal fluency of BT patients making verbal communication more difficult. MDD episodes in the past are related to psychomotor retardation, problems with attention and executive functioning that may cause problems in daily functioning. BT patients with current or past MDD should be given special attention in the process of medical treatment.