Post by Admin on Feb 26, 2022 18:39:52 GMT
Mental health conditions are associated with dementia later in life
www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/mental-disorders-are-associated-with-dementia-later-in-life
A large new study finds an association between mental health conditions and dementia later in life.
While research has not established a causal link, mental health issues remain a predictor of dementia.
Successfully addressing mental health conditions may help reduce the likelihood of dementia for older adults.
As of 2020, there were over 55 million peopleTrusted Source worldwide living with dementia, with an estimated 10 million new cases every year. Experts estimate that someone develops the condition every 3 seconds.
For decades, researchers have suspected a connection between mental health conditions earlier in life and dementia later on, although the results of such investigations have been inconsistentTrusted Source.
Now, researchers from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Duke University in Durham, NC, and the University of Auckland in New Zealand have published a long-term study of 1.7 million people from New Zealand aged 21–60 years.
The integrative nature of the country’s national health system allowed the study’s authors to follow individuals across 30 years — from 1988 to 2018 — linking hospital records and population databases.
The study finds that mental health conditions are strongly associated with dementia later in life.
The study appears in JAMA PsychiatryTrusted Source.
Association, not cause
While the study reveals a strong statistical association between mental health conditions and dementia, a longitudinal study such as this cannot prove that earlier mental health issues cause dementia.
The study’s lead author is Dr. Leah Richmond-Rakerd, an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Michigan. She suggested to Medical News Today a few reasons why such a strong association might exist:
“There could be shared risk factors for both mental [health conditions] and dementia, such as shared genetics. It might also be that individuals experience a brain vulnerability that shows up as mental health problems earlier in life, and shows up as dementia later in life.”
Dr. Archana Singh-Manoux, who was not involved in this study, told MNT that she agrees that this explanation is possible.
However, “it is more likely that [having a mental health condition] early in life [may set] you on pathways that lead to adverse health outcomes. This might include harmful behaviors, [difficulties with managing] self-health care, noncompliance to treatment, poverty, side effects of medication, etc.”
Dr. Singh-Manoux is a principal investigator of the epidemiology of aging and neurodegenerative diseases at the Université de Paris in France.
“It’s important to note, though,” said Dr. Richmond-Rakerd, “that even if mental health conditions are not a causal risk factor for dementia, the presence of a mental health problem is still an important indicator of risk.”
www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/mental-disorders-are-associated-with-dementia-later-in-life
A large new study finds an association between mental health conditions and dementia later in life.
While research has not established a causal link, mental health issues remain a predictor of dementia.
Successfully addressing mental health conditions may help reduce the likelihood of dementia for older adults.
As of 2020, there were over 55 million peopleTrusted Source worldwide living with dementia, with an estimated 10 million new cases every year. Experts estimate that someone develops the condition every 3 seconds.
For decades, researchers have suspected a connection between mental health conditions earlier in life and dementia later on, although the results of such investigations have been inconsistentTrusted Source.
Now, researchers from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Duke University in Durham, NC, and the University of Auckland in New Zealand have published a long-term study of 1.7 million people from New Zealand aged 21–60 years.
The integrative nature of the country’s national health system allowed the study’s authors to follow individuals across 30 years — from 1988 to 2018 — linking hospital records and population databases.
The study finds that mental health conditions are strongly associated with dementia later in life.
The study appears in JAMA PsychiatryTrusted Source.
Association, not cause
While the study reveals a strong statistical association between mental health conditions and dementia, a longitudinal study such as this cannot prove that earlier mental health issues cause dementia.
The study’s lead author is Dr. Leah Richmond-Rakerd, an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Michigan. She suggested to Medical News Today a few reasons why such a strong association might exist:
“There could be shared risk factors for both mental [health conditions] and dementia, such as shared genetics. It might also be that individuals experience a brain vulnerability that shows up as mental health problems earlier in life, and shows up as dementia later in life.”
Dr. Archana Singh-Manoux, who was not involved in this study, told MNT that she agrees that this explanation is possible.
However, “it is more likely that [having a mental health condition] early in life [may set] you on pathways that lead to adverse health outcomes. This might include harmful behaviors, [difficulties with managing] self-health care, noncompliance to treatment, poverty, side effects of medication, etc.”
Dr. Singh-Manoux is a principal investigator of the epidemiology of aging and neurodegenerative diseases at the Université de Paris in France.
“It’s important to note, though,” said Dr. Richmond-Rakerd, “that even if mental health conditions are not a causal risk factor for dementia, the presence of a mental health problem is still an important indicator of risk.”