Exploring cognitive symptoms in patients with unipolar and bipolar major depression: A comparative evaluation of subjective and objective performance. in Psychiatry research / Psychiatry Res. 2025 May;347:116422. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2025.116422. Epub 2025 Feb 28.

2025
AOU San Luigi di Orbassano

Tipo pubblicazione

Observational Study

Autori/Collaboratori (6)Vedi tutti...

Rosso G
Department of Neurosciences 'Rita Levi Montalcini', University of Turin, Italy; Psychiatric Unit, San Luigi Gonzaga University Hospital, Orbassano, Turin, Italy. Electronic address: gianluca.rosso@unito.it.
Porceddu G
Department of Neurosciences 'Rita Levi Montalcini', University of Turin, Italy; Psychiatric Unit, San Luigi Gonzaga University Hospital, Orbassano, Turin, Italy. Electronic address: giorgia.porceddu@unito.it.
Portaluppi C
Department of Neurosciences 'Rita Levi Montalcini', University of Turin, Italy. Electronic address: caterina.portaluppi@unito.it.

et alii...

Abstract

AIM: This cross-sectional observational study aimed to assess objective and subjective cognitive deficits in patients with unipolar (UD) and bipolar depression (BD), focusing on their insight into actual cognitive abilities. METHODS: A total of 124 participants were recruited: 84 patients with a current major depressive episode (43 with UD, 41 with BD) and 40 age- and gender-matched healthy controls. Cognitive assessments were conducted using the Screen for Cognitive Impairment in Psychiatry (SCIP) for objective evaluation and the Perceived Deficits Questionnaire-Depression-5-item (PDQ-d-5) for subjective assessment. Comparisons were performed using ?² tests for categorical variables and ANCOVA for continuous variables (to compare the severity of cognitive complaints and impairment, while controlling for illness duration and age at onset). The Pearson correlation coefficient was used to examine the relationship between subjective and objective measures. RESULTS: In the objective assessment, 72.1 % of UD patients and 68.3 % of BD patients showed cognitive symptoms, with nearly half classified as moderate to severe. No significant differences were found between UD and BD in objective cognitive profiles. In subjective assessments, 39.5 % of UD patients and 46.3 % of BD patients scored below the median. BD patients reported worse subjective cognitive performance than UD patients, with lower total scores (11.1 ± 3.2 vs. 7.9 ± 4.4, p < < 0.001) and poorer performance in planning (2.8 ± 1.5 vs. 1.9 ± 1.4, p < < 0.001) and attention (3.4 ± 0.9 vs. 2.3 ± 1.5, p < .001) domains. CONCLUSION: This study confirms significant cognitive symptoms in both UD and BD patients. The discrepancy between subjective and objective cognitive performance in BD patients suggests a disconnect between perceived and cognitive abilities.

Accesso banca dati bibliografica

PMID : 40023095

DOI : 10.1016/j.psychres.2025.116422

Keywords

Humans; Female; Male; Bipolar Disorder/complications/psychology; Adult; Depressive Disorder, Major/psychology; Middle Aged; Cross-Sectional Studies; Cognitive Dysfunction/etiology; Neuropsychological Tests; Bipolar depression; Cognitive assessment; Cognitive symptoms; Major depressive episode; Objective cognitive performance; Subjective cognitive deficits; Unipolar depression;