A long-term British study has found that certain depressive symptoms may serve as early indicators of dementia decades before memory loss appears.
اضافة اعلان
The researchers analyzed health data from 5,811 adults aged 45 to 69, who were asked about their mental health, including 30 common symptoms of depression.
Over a 23-year follow-up period, 586 participants developed dementia.
The study team found that individuals exhibiting five or more of six warning signs were at higher risk of developing dementia. These signs include:
Increasing anxiety and stress
Difficulty concentrating
Loss of problem-solving ability
Lack of warmth and affection toward others
Loss of self-confidence
Dissatisfaction with daily task performance
The researchers explained that recognizing these symptoms could enable doctors to identify individuals at risk of dementia years before traditional symptoms, such as memory loss and confusion, appear.
The findings showed that loss of self-confidence increases risk by 51%, inability to cope with problems by 49%, lack of warmth and affection by 44%, anxiety and stress by 34%, dissatisfaction with daily tasks by 33%, and difficulty concentrating by 29%.
Dr. Philip Frank, a researcher at University College London and lead author of the study, stated: “The results indicate that dementia risk is associated with a specific set of depressive symptoms, not depression in general. Monitoring these symptoms gives a clearer picture of those most at risk decades before the disease develops.”
Dr. Richard Oakley, Deputy Director of Research and Innovation at the Alzheimer’s Society, noted: “The relationship between dementia and depression is complex, but this study helps to understand how they are linked and opens the door for early prevention.”
Source: Daily Mail
