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alzheimers depression

High stress in middle age may increase women's risk of dementia

A study that followed 800 Swedish middle-aged women from 1968 to 2005 has found that high levels of stress in middle age increased Alzheimer’s risk by 21% and risk of any dementia by 15%.

Of the 800 women, 425 died during the course of the study while 153 (19%) developed dementia (of whom 104 developed Alzheimer’s), at an average age of 78. The number of stressors and long-standing distress were independently associated with Alzheimer’s.

Alzheimer's & Depression

Depression, stress, & distress as risk factors for Alzheimer's

See also

Depression (as a factor in general cognitive & memory problems)

Older news items (pre-2010) brought over from the old website

Apathy common in dementia patients with white matter changes

A study involving 176 patients with Alzheimer's, vascular dementia or mixed dementia, or mild cognitive impairment, has found that 82% of the patients with changes in their white matter were apathetic, compared to an overall rate of 58%. This discovery suggests that there is a common biological reason behind this apathy, irrespective of which type of dementia a patient has. White matter changes were also associated with age, gender, blood pressure, hypertension, ischaemic heart disease, mental slowness, disinhibition, gait disturbance and focal neurologic symptoms. Apathy, mental slowness and age were the most consistent predicting factors for WMCs.

Jonsson, M., Edman, Å., Lind, K., Rolstad, S., Sjögren, M., & Wallin, A. (2009). Apathy is a prominent neuropsychiatric feature of radiological white-matter changes in patients with dementia. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 9999(9999), n/a. doi: 10.1002/gps.2379.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-12/uog-aci120209.php

Depression may increase risk of Alzheimer's disease in people with memory problems

A three-year study involving 756 people with mild cognitive impairment found increases in depressive symptoms was positively associated with increased risk in developing Alzheimer’s. The study also found that, for those who were depressed, taking the Alzheimer’s drug donepezil significantly reduced the risk of developing Alzheimer’s, compared to those taking vitamin E or placebo. Donepezil had little effect on those who were not depressed.

Lu, P.H. et al. 2009. Donepezil delays progression to AD in MCI subjects with depressive symptoms. Neurology, 72, 2115-2121.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-06/aaon-dmi060909.php

Being social and not easily stressed reduces dementia risk

A six-year Swedish study involving 506 older people who did not have dementia when first examined has found that those who scored high in extraversion and low in neuroticism (meaning easily distressed) had the lowest dementia risk. Those people who were not socially active but calm and relaxed had a 50% lower risk of developing dementia compared with people who were isolated and prone to distress. The dementia risk was also 50% lower for people who were outgoing and calm compared to those who were outgoing and prone to distress. However, neither high neuroticism nor low extraversion alone was related to a significantly higher risk of dementia.

Wang, H. -X. et al. 2009. Personality and lifestyle in relation to dementia incidence. Neurology, 72, 253-259.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/aaon-saa011309.php

Depression a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease

Previous studies have found higher levels of depressive symptoms among patients with Alzheimer’s disease or mild cognitive impairment. Now the Religious Orders Study reveals that although those with more symptoms of depression at the beginning of the study (in 1994) were more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease, those who developed Alzheimer’s disease showed no increase in depressive symptoms in the years before the diagnosis was made. This suggests that depression is a risk factor for dementia rather than a consequence.

Wilson, R.S., Arnold, S.E., Beck, T.L., Bienias, J.L. & Bennett, D.A. 2008. Change in Depressive Symptoms During the Prodromal Phase of Alzheimer Disease. Archives of General Psychiatry, 65(4), 439-445.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-04/jaaj-sod040308.php

High stress and genetic risk factor lead to increased memory decline

A study involving 91 older, healthy subjects (mean age 78.8 years) has found that those low on stress (low levels in cortisol) or without the APOE-ε4 gene performed better on memory measures than those with high stress or those with the APOE-ε4 gene. Those who had the gene and had high stress levels showed the greatest memory impairment.

Peavy, G.M. et al. 2007. The Effects of Prolonged Stress and APOE Genotype on Memory and Cortisol in Older Adults. Biological Psychiatry, 62 (5), 472-478.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-08/e-naf082707.php

Distress-prone people more likely to develop memory problems

Data from two large, long-running studies, the Religious Orders Study and the Memory and Aging Project, has revealed that those who most often experience negative emotions such as depression and anxiety (according to self report) were 40% more likely to develop mild cognitive impairment than those who were least prone to negative emotions. This follows on from an earlier study showing that people who are easily distressed are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease than more easygoing people.

Wilson, R.S., Schneider, J.A., Boyle, P.A., Arnold, S.E., Tang, Y. & Bennett, D.A. 2007. Chronic distress and incidence of mild cognitive impairment. Neurology, 68, 2085-2092.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-06/aaon-dpm060507.php

Loneliness increases risk of Alzheimer's disease

Social isolation has been linked with an increased risk of dementia and cognitive decline, but perceived isolation — feeling alone rather than being alone — hasn’t been investigated. A new four-year study of 823 older adults provides evidence that loneliness is a risk factor for Alzheimer’s. 76 individuals developed Alzheimer’s over the course of the study, and the risk of developing it increased around 51% for each point on the 5-point loneliness score. The findings did not change significantly when the researchers factored in markers of social isolations, such as a small network and infrequent social activities. Autopsies performed on 90 individuals who died during the study show that loneliness is a risk factor rather than an early sign of the disease.

Wilson, R.S., Krueger, K.R., Arnold, S.E., Schneider, J.A., Kelly, J.F., Barnes, L.L., Tang, Y. & Bennett, D.A. 2007. Loneliness and Risk of Alzheimer Disease. Archives of General Psychiatry, 64, 234-240.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-02/rumc-law020207.php

Depression associated with changes in the brain in Alzheimer's

A lifetime history of depression is associated with increased plaques and tangles in the brains of those with Alzheimer's disease and more rapid cognitive decline, confirming previous indications that depression may be a risk factor for Alzheimer’s.

Rapp, M.A. et al. 2006. Increased Hippocampal Plaques and Tangles in Patients With Alzheimer Disease With a Lifetime History of Major Depression. Archives of General Psychiatry, 63,161-167.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-02/tmsh-ldb020306.php

Distress-prone people more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease

The Religious Orders Study has found that those who most often experience negative emotions like depression and anxiety were twice as likely to develop Alzheimer's disease as those who were least prone to experience negative emotions. A person’s tendency to experience psychological distress has been shown to be a stable personality trait throughout adulthood. Proneness to stress was specifically associated with a decline in episodic memory (measured by asking participants to recall a list of words or a story) — an area particularly problematic for those with Alzheimer's. Episodic memory ability declined 10 times faster in those high in proneness to distress than in those low in this response. This result was not altered when participants’ engagement in cognitively stimulating activities. Examination of the brains of those who have died during the long-term study appears to rule out the possibility that proneness to distress is an early sign of Alzheimer's disease rather than a risk factor, although more research is needed to confirm this.

Wilson, R.S., Evans, D.A., Bienias, J.L., Mendes de Leon, C.F., Schneider, J.A. & Bennett, D.A. 2003. Proneness to psychological distress is associated with risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Neurology, 61, 1479-1485.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2003-12/aaon-pm120203.php

Study points to depression as a risk for developing Alzheimer's disease

More than 650 elderly people took part in a seven-year study which has revealed that those with the greatest number of depressive symptoms at the start of the study were more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease and also showed more rapid cognitive decline.

Wilson, R.S., Barnes, L.L., de Leon, C.F.M., Aggarwal, N.T., Schneider, J.S., Bach, J., Pilat, J., Beckett, L.A., Arnold, S.E., Evans, D.A. & Bennett, D.A. 2002. Depressive symptoms, cognitive decline, and risk of AD in older persons. Neurology, 59, 364-370.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2002-08/aaon-spt080502.php

Depression in the elderly linked to Alzheimer's risk

Submitted by Fiona McPherson on

A study, involving 371 patients with mild cognitive impairment, has found that those with depressive symptoms had higher levels of amyloid-beta, particularly in the frontal cortex and the anterior and posterior cingulate gyrus (both involved in mood disorders such as depression).

The findings suggest that late-life depression could be a major risk factor for developing Alzheimer's faster than others.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-06/sonm-dit060814.php

Late-life depression increases dementia risk

Submitted by Fiona McPherson on

Late-life depression is associated with an increased risk for all-cause dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and, most predominantly, vascular dementia, a new study shows.

A new meta-analysis extends previous research showing a link between depression and Alzheimer’s disease to late-life depression and dementia. The analysis of 23 studies concluded that those with late-life depression were significantly more likely to develop dementia (1.85 times more likely), and that the risk of developing vascular dementia was significantly greater than that of developing Alzheimer’s (2.52 vs 1.65).

Feeling lonely linked to increased dementia risk

There's quite a bit of evidence now that socializing — having frequent contact with others — helps protect against cognitive impairment in old age. We also know that depression is a risk factor for cognitive impairment and dementia. There have been hints that loneliness might also be a risk factor. But here’s the question: is it being alone, or feeling lonely, that is the danger?

A large Dutch study, following 2173 older adults for three years, suggests that it is the feeling of loneliness that is the main problem.

Common health complaints increase Alzheimer's risk

A ten-year study involving 7,239 older adults (65+) has found that each common health complaint increased dementia risk by an average of about 3%, and that these individual risks compounded. Thus, while a healthy older adult had about an 18% chance of developing dementia after 10 years, those with a dozen of these health complaints had, on average, closer to a 40% chance.

Depression increases risk of dementia

Data from the long-running Framingham Heart Study has revealed that depression significantly increased the risk of developing dementia. Of the 125 people (13%) who were classified as having depression at the start of the study, 21.6% had developed dementia by the end of the study (17 years later). This compares to around 16.6% of those who weren’t depressed. When age, gender, education, homocysteine, and APOE gene status were taken into account, depressed participants had a more than 50% increased risk of developing dementia.

Major depression more than doubles risk of dementia among adults with diabetes

Both diabetes and clinical depression are known to be risk factors for dementia. Now a study that tracked nearly 4000 diabetics over 5 years has found having both increased the risk 2.7-fold. Nearly 8% of the diabetics with major depression (36 of 455) developed dementia over the five years, compared to 4.8% of those with diabetes alone (163 of 3382). Those who developed dementia within 2 years of being diagnosed with depression were excluded. Depression is common among people who have diabetes.

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