The Associations between Cognitive Function, Depressive Symptoms, and Contact with Adult Children in Older Couples

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between cognitive function and depressive symptoms in older couples while also examining the relationship between cognitive per-formance and the frequency of contact with adult children. A total of 96 couples volunteered for this study and provided their informed consent at enrollment. Participants completed a neuropsycho-logical test battery consisting of five cognitive domains: attention, language and related functions, visuospatial functions, memory, and frontal/executive functions. Symptoms of depression were as-sessed using the short version of the Geriatric Depression Scale. The number of contacts with chil-dren was categorized into =1 per month and <1 per month. We found that the cognitive functions of husbands with depressed wives were significantly lower in the frontal/executive functions. In con -trast, the wives' cognitive performance was not associated with the husbands' depressive symptoms. for couples who had contact with their adult children less than once a month, the odds of the hus-bands with lower cognitive performance were significantly higher, which was reflected in their scores in visuospatial and executive functions. Among older married couples, the cognitive func-tions of husbands may be influenced more by their wives' mental health and degree of contact with their adult children. This infers that wives and offspring may act as a buffer against the cognitive impairment of older married men.