Elderly patients with depression with cognitive impairment have a greater risk of dementia conversion, a worse prognosis and a higher recurrence rate. Therefore, it is urgent to provide evidence-based early intervention strategies for geriatric depression with cognitive impairment. At present, domestic and foreign guidelines do not provide clear and effective treatment plans for elderly patients with depression with cognitive impairment, and clinical research and practice also lack evidence-based treatment methods. Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs), the most commonly used antidepressants, do not significantly improve the cognitive impairment of elderly patients with depression, and may even aggravate the cognitive impairment of elderly patients with depression. The overall efficacy and tolerability of drug therapy in elderly patients with depression and cognitive impairment are poor. Studies have confirmed that Cognitive training can significantly improve the overall Cognitive function and multiple Cognitive domains of healthy elderly people, patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Previous studies have also preliminarily confirmed the cognitive improvement effect of cognitive training on elderly patients with depression, which provides a new idea for clinical diagnosis and treatment. Therefore, based on the urgent clinical needs and preliminary work, the development and clinical validation of a set of standardized cognitive training methods suitable for elderly patients with depression and cognitive impairment will be conducive to improve the overall efficacy of elderly patients with depression, improve the prognosis of patients, and save health resources.
late-life depression (LLD) is the most common mental illness in the elderly. Due to the increasing prevalence of population aging, it has become one of the important factors affecting the quality of life of the elderly. 50-70% of elderly patients with depression are accompanied by different degrees of cognitive impairment.