Depression and Dementia in Old-Old Population: History of Depression May Be Associated with Dementia Onset. The Tome Project.

Yi-Chien Liu,Masaru Mimura,Kenichi Meguro,Takashi Seki,Kyoko Akanuma,Kei Nakamura,Masahiro Nakatsuka,Norito Kawakami,Shutaro Nakaaki

doi:10.3389/fnagi.2017.00335

Abstract

Background: In this study, we investigated the relationship among a history of depression, depressive states, and dementia in a community-based old-old cohort.Methods: From 2012 to 2013, we recruited 200 subjects residing in Tome, Japan. Ultimately, 181 subjects were enrolled in our study and completed the whole study protocol. We used the World Mental Health-Composite International Diagnostic Interview 3.0 to evaluate whether subjects had a history of depression or other affective disorders. Simultaneously, 3.0 Tesla brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed for each subject.Results: Of 181 subjects, 66 were normal (clinical dementia rating [CDR] = 0), 88 had MCI (CDR = 0.5), and 27 had dementia (CDR = 1 or above). Nine of the 181 subjects (4.9%) had a history of depressive episodes. CDR was significantly higher in subjects with a history of depression (0.9 vs. 0.4, p = 0.046) than in those without it. Seventy-two of the 181 subjects (39.7%) exhibited depressive symptoms. Subjects with depression exhibited lower Mini–Mental State Examination scores (21.6 vs. 23.3, p = 0.008), higher CDR scores (0.6 vs. 0.3, p = 0.004), and more atrophy of the medial temporal lobe (4.4 vs. 3.7, p = 0.036).Conclusion: A history of depression should be considered a risk factor for all-cause dementia. In the old-old population, depression is associated with a higher prevalence of dementia, lower cognitive performance, and a smaller hippocampus.

Highlights

Depression and dementia are very common mental disorders in the elderly population
We investigated the relationship among a history of depression, depressive symptoms, and dementia in this population
Clinical Dementia Rating The clinical dementia rating (CDR) of each participant was determined by the clinical team, comprising medical doctors and public health nurses, who were blinded to the cognitive test results

Summary

Introduction

Depression and dementia are very common mental disorders in the elderly population. Their relationship is not yet fully understood. A systemic review of Alzheimer disease found that a history of depression is an important risk factor (Ownby et al, 2006). Several community-based longitudinal studies have not found a connection between depression and dementia development (Becker et al, 2009; Luppa et al, 2013). One twin-based study even found depression to be a prodrome of dementia, but earlylife depression was not identified as a risk factor (Brommelhoff et al, 2009). We investigated the relationship among a history of depression, depressive states, and dementia in a community-based old-old cohort

Methods

Results

Conclusion