Depression present in late life and midlife linked to significantly increased risk for all-cause dementia<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter<\/b>
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TUESDAY, June 3, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Depression across the life course is associated with an increased risk for dementia, according to a study published online May 29 in eClinicalMedicine<\/em>.<\/p>\n Jacob Brain, from The University of Nottingham Medical School in the United Kingdom, and colleagues conducted an umbrella review and meta-analysis to assess incident dementia in individuals with a noncurrent history of depression.<\/p>\n Nine reviews were eligible for inclusion in the umbrella review: One was moderate quality, three were low, and five were critically low. The meta-analyses included 18 studies reporting depression onset late in life (with 901,762 participants), and seven studies reported depression assessed during midlife (with \u22652,501,269 participants); all studies were high quality, with no strong evidence of publication bias. The researchers found that depression present in late life and midlife significantly increased the risk for all-cause dementia based on pooled hazard ratios (hazard ratios, 1.95 and 1.56, respectively).<\/p>\n “This umbrella review and meta-analysis demonstrates that depression across the life course, particularly in later life, is associated with an increased risk of dementia, suggesting it may function both as a prodromal symptom and a modifiable risk factor,” the authors write. “This highlights the potential need for targeted screening and depression management in older adults especially.”<\/p>\n One author disclosed ties to the publishing and medical education industries.<\/p>\n