Better Cognition Tied to Higher Relapse Risk for Depression in Remission

WEDNESDAY, May 20, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- Depression in remission (RD) is associated with a higher risk for future depression, with higher cognitive performance linked to higher risk, according to a study published online May 6 in BMJ Mental Health.Angharad N. de Cates, D.Phil., from the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom, and colleagues examined whether cognition is associated with subsequent depression in a study involving 1,862 U.K. Biobank participants with a history of RD who were age- and sex-matched to 1,862 participants without depression history or current antidepressant use.The researchers found that participants with RD had a higher risk for future depression than controls (33 versus 13 percent), including when temporal differences in longitudinal assessment were accounted for (hazard ratio, 3.16). In controls, composite cognitive performance was inversely associated with future depression risk (0.25 percent at −1 standard deviation [SD], 0.20 percent at mean, and 0.15 percent at +1 SD). This relationship was reversed in RD (0.74 percent at −1 SD, 0.90 percent at mean, and 1.10 percent at +1 SD). Contributions were seen for executive functioning, processing speed, and reasoning task scores. There was an association for higher grey matter in default mode network regions with better concurrent cognitive performance across all participants, but not with future depression risk."Among people with previous depression, those with higher cognitive scores were more likely to experience a further depressive episode than those with lower scores -- the opposite pattern to that observed in controls," de Cates said in a statement.Several authors disclosed ties to the biopharmaceutical industry.Abstract/Full Text.Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

Better Cognition Tied to Higher Relapse Risk for Depression in Remission

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