Depression as a Risk Factor for Alzheimer’s Disease: A Systematic Review of Longitudinal Meta-Analyses

Abstract

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most frequent cause of dementia, linked to morbidity and mortality among elderly patients. Recently, several clinical studies suggested that depression is a potential risk factor for cognitive decline and AD. A review of meta-analyses was performed, calculating pooled odds ratios to estimate the risk of AD in people with a prior diagnosis (or clinically significant symptoms) of depression. A total of six meta-analyses which represented 28 individual studies were analyzed. A significant association between depression and AD was found (OR = 1.54, 95% CI [1.02–2.31]; p = 0.038). The results showed that heterogeneity across studies was substantial. We found a significant positive effect size for clinical measures of depression, but not for symptomatic rating scales, in the association of depression with risk of AD. The type of rating scale used to assess depression and the cut-off criteria selected also moderated the relationship between depression and AD risk. We found that studies that used clinically significant criteria for diagnosis of depression had more consistent and significant results than studies that used symptomatic scales.

The Performance of Dual-Task Tests Can Be a Combined Neuro-Psychological and Motor Marker of Mild Cognitive Impairment, Depression and Dementia in Geriatric Patients—A Cross-Sectional Study

“…A total of 155 (62%) cases TUG manual; 23 (9.2%) had cognitive and 72 (28.2%) physical problems while performing tasks. The median score was 16 (13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23) seconds, stride number during the test-23 (19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28), and while turning around-6 (5)(6)(7)(8). DTC was 11 (0-25)%.…”

“…Walking test results are often affected by other neurologic disorders, arthritis, or general health conditions in the geriatric population. We have decided to evaluate depression and treat it separately from healthy controls as it is a proven risk factor that can occur before the onset of dementia [26]. The differences were visible in single TUG and slowness of gait speed, the manual TUG, and the percentage of the performance of dual-task tests.…”

Aducanumab, a Novel Anti-Amyloid Monoclonal Antibody, for the Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease: A Comprehensive Review

“…24 Depressive symptoms are also very common in AD and are reported in about 20-30% of patients. 25,26 There has long been a suggested relationship between the two, however, it remains unclear whether depression is a risk factor or an early manifestation of the disease. Ultimately, AD presents with various symptoms in an unpredictable fashion.…”

Multiple Pre-Treatment miRNAs Levels in Untreated Major Depressive Disorder Patients Predict Early Response to Antidepressants and Interact with Key Pathways

“…MDD is a chronic, often relapsing disease [ 11 , 12 ]. This prolonged illness increases the risk of a variety of chronic physical disorders [ 5 , 13 , 14 , 15 ]. Therefore, successful treatment leading to early response is important for a favorable prognosis [ 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 ].…”