Depression and anxiety are linked to earlier onset of Alzheimer's disease (AD), new research shows.
Investigators found the age of onset of AD is about 2 years earlier among patients with depression and 3 years earlier among those with anxiety vs those without these disorders. In addition, having more than one psychiatric diagnosis pushes the age of AD onset even earlier.
The findings underline the importance of screening for cognitive decline in older patients, including those with psychiatric conditions, study author Zachary A. Miller, MD, associate professor of neurology, University of California San Francisco Memory and Aging Center, told Medscape Medical News.
"I think that as part of healthy aging, we should be doing some level of screening for cognition, just like everyone should get a colonoscopy at age 50," said Miller.
Patients should be monitored if they have symptoms of depression or anxiety, or if these are not well treated and "if they have cognitive complaints in addition to those psychiatric and mood concerns, we definitely want to know who they are," he added.
The findings will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) 2021 Annual Meeting in April.
Dose-Dependent Effect?
Depression has been established as a risk factor in AD that may accelerate the development and disease course, the researchers note.