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July 06, 2010; 75 (1) Articles

Temporal course of depressive symptoms during the development of Alzheimer disease

R.S. Wilson, G.M. Hoganson, K.B. Rajan, L.L. Barnes, C.F. Mendes de Leon, D.A. Evans
First published July 5, 2010, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0b013e3181e620c5
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Abstract

Objective: To characterize change in depressive symptoms before and after the onset of dementia in Alzheimer disease (AD).

Method: 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).

Results: 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.

Conclusion: Depressive symptoms show little change during the development and progression of AD to a moderate level of dementia severity.

Footnotes

  • Editorial, page 12

    See also pages 27 and 35

    Study funding: Supported by NIH (NIA AG11101, NIA AG10161, and NIEHS ES 10902). The organizations funding this study had no role in the design and conduct of the study; in the collection, analysis, or interpretation of the data; or in the preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript. Dr. Wilson had full access to all of the data in the study and takes responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis.

    Disclosure: Author disclosures are provided at the end of the article.

    Received October 22, 2009. Accepted in final form February 3, 2010.

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Letters: Rapid online correspondence

  • Temporal course of depressive symptoms during the development of Alzheimer disease
    • David J. Vinkers, Netherlands Institute of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology, Noordsingel 113, 3035 EM, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
    • Roos C. van der Mast (Leiden, PhD, MD; R.C.van_der_Mast@lumc.nl)v
    Submitted January 03, 2011
  • Reply from the authors
    • Robert S. Wilson, Rush University Medical Center, 600 S. Paulina, Ste. 1038, Chicago, IL 60612
    • Denis A. Evans (Chicago, IL; denis_evans@rush.edu)
    Submitted January 03, 2011
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