Older Adults Who Are Severely Depressed And Getting Worse Over Time May Be At Higher Risk Of Developing Dementia

MedPage Today (3/17, Jackson) reports, “Older adults who are severely depressed and getting worse over time may be at higher risk of developing dementia,” the findings of a 2,488-participant study published online March 16 in JAMA Psychiatry suggest. The study, which received support from the National Institute on Aging, the National Institute for Nursing Research, and the National Institute of Mental Health, among others, revealed that “a high and increasing depressive symptom trajectory was associated with significantly increased risk of dementia.” While “moderate and increasing symptom trajectory was not associated with increased risk of dementia,” it “may be related to underlying neurodegenerative disease, researchers reported.”

Related Links:

— “Worsening Depression Tied to Dementia Risk,” Kay Jackson, MedPage Today, March 17, 2016.

Posted in In The News.