Bidirectional Associations Between Depressive Symptoms and Cognitive Functioning in Older Adults: Heterogeneity by Grandparenthood Status

Depressive symptoms and cognitive functioning are intertwined in later life, but it is unclear whether their time-ordered associations differ by grandparenthood status. Using SHARE (2006–2022) data from adults aged ≥50 with consecutive observations, we fit lagged linear mixed-effects models with person-specific random intercepts and autoregressive adjustment, controlling for sociodemographic and health covariates and the time between waves. Higher prior EURO-D scores predicted slightly lower subsequent cognitive performance, and higher prior cognition predicted fewer subsequent depressive symptoms; in both directions, cross-domain effects were small relative to within-domain stability. Domain-specific analyses indicated the most consistent prospective links for memory and orientation, with weaker evidence for numeracy. Grandparenthood (having grandchildren) was not associated with the cognitive composite but was associated with slightly lower depressive symptoms. As a secondary aim, interaction models tested whether grandparenthood moderated the lagged associations; interactions were small and sensitive to specification, suggesting modest heterogeneity (including a crossover pattern for cognition predicting depression) rather than a uniform “enrichment” effect. Overall, depressive symptoms and cognition show modest bidirectional prospective links, and grandparenthood status marks limited, non-causal differences in affect–cognition coupling within an observational design.