On Depression and Dementia

Name: Marisa
Current event posting number: 4

Topic: Health

Title of Article: Depression in middle age linked to dementia

Author: Amanda Gardner

Publication Name: cnn.com

Publication Date: 5/8/2012

Length of Article: 1.5 pages

            A study published last week in the Archives of General Psychiatry provided new evidence linking depression in middle-aged individuals to dementia later in life.  Using data culled from a sample of 13000 adults in a “large Northern California health plan,” the study showed that those who experienced depression in middle age [40-50 years old] were 20% more likely to be diagnosed with dementia.  Furthermore, those who were diagnosed with depression late in life were 70% more likely to have dementia than their depression-free peers.  A new link between the time of life in which depression develops and the type of disease diagnosed later in life was also found; vascular dementia tends to appear in those who began their battle with depression in middle age, while Alzheimer’s disease was found to manifest in those who were diagnosed with depression around age 70 or older.  This may be a function of the fact that Alzheimer’s and dementia are similar but distinct diseases; however there is currently no medical proof to support this. 

            It is not yet known if depression is a risk factor or a warning sign of memory-related diseases.  The article also details limitations of the study, such as the method of data gathering: a single question on a single survey, which greatly limits the depth of information, such as whether the individual was depressed as a child or as an adolescent, or any possible genetic predisposition toward the disease.  In addition, the study is based only on surveys and medical history, as opposed to more reliable techniques such as brain imagery.

            Many mental disorders are not yet fully understood, even if they have an effect on a sizable portion of the population [5.4 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease, according to the Alzheimer’s Association].  Any research on these diseases, memory-loss disorders in particular, is significant to advancing medical care for the elderly, and for the ever-aging baby boomers.  Even if this study ends up being a red herring, it’s still progress, and may lead in a more promising direction.

[Read the full article here]