MIAMI: The research included close to 2,500 people in their 70s who did not have any signs of dementia at the start of the study. The participants were monitored for five years for symptoms of depression, and then for six years for signs of dementia.
Dementia developed in just over 21 percent of participants with serious and escalating symptoms of depression, compared to about 12 percent of those with consistently minimal symptoms of depression, the findings showed.
“Our results raise the possibility that older adults’ cognitive [mental] health could be improved with interventions to reduce depressive symptoms, such as psychotherapy or other behavioral interventions, or medications,” said study author Allison Kaup…