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Various aging associated factors, such as functional decline, psychosocial problems, and cognitive dysfunction, are risk factors for somatoform disorders (SDs) in the elderly. The aim of the present study was to evaluate how cognition is correlated with the severity of late-life SDs from a neuropsychological viewpoint.Fifty-three patients over 60 years of age who had been diagnosed as having SDs were examined in this study. The severity of the somatic symptoms was assessed using the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scales (HAMA). Cognitive functions were assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB), and the Japanese version of the Neurobehavioral Cognitive Examination (J-COGNISTAT).The J-COGNISTAT subtest score for attention was below the cutoff point (8 points) but was not correlated with the severity of the somatic symptoms in the patients with late-life SDs. The severity of anxiety as assessed using the HAMA was significantly correlated with the calculation scores (P0.005) among the J-COGNISTAT subtests, the FAB total (P0.05), and the FAB subtest scores (similarities and motor series) (P0.01). Other factors, including the benzodiazepine dosage, antidepressant dosage, the duration of illness, and the onset age, were not significantly correlated with the symptomatic severities.Patients with late-life SDs showed attention deficits, but no correlation was seen between the attention deficits and symptomatic severities. Attention deficits might be associated with the appearance of symptoms. Executive dysfunction and working memory might be associated with the severity of symptoms.

Depression and dementia, in particular Alzheimer's disease (AD), are critically important issues in the mental health of old age. Both conditions apparently reduce quality of life and increase the impairment of activities of daily living for elderly persons. AD usually shows poor prognosis owing to progressive neuronal degeneration, while depression is basically reversible. However, depressive symptoms are common in AD and occur in approximately 20-30% of patients with AD. Epidemiological studies have shown a possible pathological association between depression and AD. Some longitudinal studies have reported that depression is a prodromal sign or might be both a prodromal symptom of AD and a risk factor. Other studies have suggested that depressive symptoms appear to coincide with or follow the onset of AD rather than precede it. However, it still remains controversial whether depressive symptoms represent a risk factor for AD, whether they are an early symptom of neurodegeneration, or whether they are a reaction to early cognitive deficits. A better understanding of the link between AD and depression might have important clinical and research implications. This review provides an overview of current knowledge regarding a relation between depression and AD and also proposes a research and clinical perspective on depression in AD.