Associations consistent across different psychiatric conditions, for Alzheimer disease and all other dementias<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
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WEDNESDAY, Feb. 23, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Mental disorders are associated with later onset of dementia, according to a study published online Feb. 16 in JAMA Psychiatry<\/em>.<\/p>\n Leah S. Richmond-Rakerd, Ph.D., from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and colleagues assessed whether mental disorders antedate dementia. The analysis included more than 1.7 million individuals identified through a population-based administrative register who resided in New Zealand between July 1988 and June 2018.<\/p>\n The researchers found that compared with individuals without a mental disorder, those with a mental disorder were at higher risk for developing subsequent dementia (relative risk [RR], 4.24; hazard ratio, 6.49). Those with a mental disorder who developed dementia did so a mean of 5.60 years earlier than those with dementia but without a mental disorder. Associations were similar across sex and age, and when adjusting for preexisting chronic physical diseases and socioeconomic deprivation. Associations persisted across mental disorders and self-harm behavior (RRs ranged from 2.93 for neurotic disorders to 6.20 for psychotic disorders) and were seen for both Alzheimer disease (RR, 2.76) and all other dementias (RR, 5.85).<\/p>\n “Ameliorating mental disorders in early life might also ameliorate neurodegenerative conditions and extend quality of life in old age,” the authors write.<\/p>\n