Temporal course of depressive symptoms during the development of Alzheimer disease

• Published in: Neurology Vol. 75; no. 1; p. 21
• Main Authors: Wilson, R S, Hoganson, G M, Rajan, K B, Barnes, L L, Mendes de Leon, C F, Evans, D A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 06.07.2010
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Aging - pathology; Aging - psychology; Alzheimer Disease - pathology; Alzheimer Disease - physiopathology; Alzheimer Disease - psychology; Cohort Studies; Depression - pathology; Depression - physiopathology; Depression - psychology; Disease Progression; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Interview, Psychological - methods; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Time Factors
• ISSN: 1526-632X
• DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0b013e3181e620c5

To characterize change in depressive symptoms before and after the onset of dementia in Alzheimer disease (AD). We used data from the Chicago Health and Aging Project, a longitudinal cohort study of risk factors for AD in a geographically defined population of old people. Two subsets were analyzed. In 357 individuals who developed incident AD during the study, self-report of depressive symptoms (Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale) was obtained at 3-year intervals for a mean of 8 to 9 years. In 340 individuals who agreed to annual data collection, informant report of depressive symptoms (Hamilton Depression Rating Scale) was obtained for a mean of 3 years after a diagnosis of AD (n = 107), mild cognitive impairment (n = 81), or no cognitive impairment (n = 152). The incident AD group reported a barely perceptible increase in depressive symptoms during 6 to 7 years of observation before the diagnosis (0.04 symptoms per year) and no change during 2 to 3 years of observation after the diagnosis except for a slight decrease in positive affect. In those with annual follow-up, neither AD nor its precursor, mild cognitive impairment, was associated with change in informant report of depressive symptoms during a mean of 3 years of observation. Depressive symptoms show little change during the development and progression of AD to a moderate level of dementia severity.