Scientists from the University of California San Francisco found that having depression is known to increase your risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease.
They found that if people do develop Alzheimer’s disease, those with depression may start having dementia symptoms about two years earlier than those who do not have depression.
People with anxiety who develop Alzheimer’s may start experiencing dementia symptoms about three years earlier than those who do not have anxiety.
Beyond the most common psychiatric disorders, depression and anxiety, the study also screened for a history of bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and schizophrenia.
The research was conducted by Zachary A. Miller et al.
In the study, the team examined 1,500 people with Alzheimer’s disease. They found that 43% had a history of depression, 32% had anxiety, 1.2% had bipolar disorder, 1% had post-traumatic stress disorder, and 0.4% had schizophrenia.
Researchers also found a serial decrease in the age when symptoms first started that doubled with each additional psychiatric disorder diagnosis.
People with only one disorder developed symptoms about 1.5 years before those with no psychiatric disorders.
Those with two psychiatric conditions developed symptoms 3.3 years earlier than those with no conditions. And those with three or more psychiatric disorders developed symptoms 7.3 years earlier than those with no such conditions.
The researchers also looked at the interactions between psychiatric disease and other well-established risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease.
The risk factors include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes, along with factors that have more recently been linked to an increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease, such as having an autoimmune disease or a history of seizures.
The researchers found that people with depression and anxiety were more likely to be female and consistent with their younger age at onset, had fewer of the typical Alzheimer’s risk factors.
However, those with depression were more likely to also have an autoimmune disease and those with anxiety were more likely to have a history of seizures.
The team hypothesizes that depression in some people could possibly reflect a greater burden of neuroinflammation.
Anxiety might indicate a greater degree of neuronal hyperexcitability, where the networks in the brain are overstimulated.
If you care about depression, please read studies about a major cause of depression in older people, and this depression drug may harm your brain health.
For more information about mental health, please see recent studies about new nasal spray that can treat anxiety disorders, and results showing one dose of this drug may lower anxiety and depression for 5 years.
Copyright © 2022 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
