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Occurrence of depression and its correlates in early onset dementia patients
- Authors:
- ROSNESS Tor Atle, BARCA Maria Lage, ENGEDAL Knut
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 25(7), July 2010, pp.704-711.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Co-morbid depressive symptoms are common in all forms of dementia. This study investigated the occurrence of depression in early onset dementia patients and which characteristics were associated with depressive symptoms. The participants were 221 patients from the memory clinic at Ullevaal university hospital in Oslo, Norway who were diagnosed with dementia before the age of 65. The mean age of the participants was 58.6 years and 50.6% were women. Depression in these patients was measured by the Montgomery Asberg depression scale (MADRS). History of depression, current psychiatric co-morbidity and usage of antidepressants were recorded. The results showed that 123 patients (55.6%) had a mild degree of depression, 21 patients (9.5%) had a moderate degree of depression and 1 patient had a severe degree of depression. A factor analysis produced 2 factors. The first factor described dysphoria: lack of concentration, pessimistic thoughts, inner tension, suicidal thoughts, lassitude and lack of sleep. The second factor denoted sadness: observed sadness, reported sadness, lack of appetite and inability to feel. In an adjusted linear regression analysis, history of depression was the only significant variable associated with the MADRS total score and both factors 1 and 2. The article concludes that a high occurrence of depressive symptoms in early onset dementia patients was found; 65.7% of all the patients had some degree of depression. A history of depression was the most important correlate of depression in these patients.