Neuropsychological evaluation of major depressive disorder patients with subjective memory complaints

Purpose: The purpuse of the research is to search memory, cognition and attention in major depression patients who subjectively describe forgetfulness and who do not. Nowadays, forgetfulness is one of the symptoms that makes the lives of people with major depression the most difficult. The research aims to provide information on this subject and contribute to the literature. Materials and Methods: In this study, 42 patients diagnosed with major depression were examined. These patients were assessed by depressive symptom severity (Hamilton Depression Rating Scale) and neuropsychological tests (Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale Cognitive Assessment Subtest - ADAS-Cog, Montreal Cognitive Assessment Scale - MOCA / MOBID, Standardized Mini Mental Test - SMMT, Stroop Test TBAG Form) was evaluated as. Forgetfulness was examined in two groups: those who described it and those who did not. Comparisons were made between groups and with the healthy control group. Results: When we examined the results of the study, the forgetfulness of the group that subjectively described forgetfulness was significantly higher objectively compared to the other groups. Standardized Mini Mental Test, Alzheimer's Disease Rating Scale Cognitive Assessment Subtest, Montreal Cognitive Assessment Scale and Stroop Test TBAG Form I., III., IV. and V. Card completion times, It was observed that the group that subjectively described forgetfulness was more forgetful compared to the depression and control groups that did not describe forgetfulness. This difference is also found in the "abstraction, digit span, recall, cube copy, animal naming and sentence repetition" subtests of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment Scale; It was also observed in the "word recall, commands, constructional praxis, ideational praxis and word identification" subtests of the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale Cognitive Assessment Subtest. In addition, according to the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, the depression levels of the major depression patients who subjectively described forgetfulness were measured as more severe than the depression group who did not describe forgetfulness. Conclusion: The results of this study shows that, major depression patients who subjectively described forgetfulness were measured as objectively more forgetful and their depression levels were more severe than the group that did not describe forgetfulness since the diagnosis of major depression. In conclusion, this research should be investigated in further researches whether the severity of depression causes forgetfulness or whether forgetfulness develops as a result of severe depression. keywords: Major Depression, Cognition, Neuropsychology, Subjective Memory Complains, Forgetfulness