An expert has explained how a symptom suffered by one in six Britons in the last 12 months could be a sign of dementia. Around 1 in 6 (16%) adults experienced moderate to severe depressive symptoms of depression in the last 12 months – meaning 11 million people in the UK.
Scientific research has shown that depression can precede and pose a risk factor for neurological diseases such as dementia and Alzheimer’s. Javier Camiña, a spokesperson for the Spanish Society of Neurology (SEN) told Lavoz DeGalicia : “ A first episode of this mental disorder in people over fifty increases the risk of suffering from a neurodegenerative pathology.”
He added: “It is a disorder that affects the brain, presents itself, and significantly influences multiple neurological diseases. Moreover, it is one of the main comorbidities associated with them, already disabling in themselves.”
Luis Aguera, a spokesperson for the Spanish Society of Psychiatry and Mental Health (Sepsm), added: “Mental disorders are brain diseases, and the brain does not understand medical books nor differentiate between neurology and psychiatry. Yes, the topic is much more complex, but all these diseases have a cerebral basis at the level of circuits and neurotransmitters. Regardless of the emotional content of the disorders being different, the relationship exists in both directions.”
The UK Alzheimer’s Society has said: “Depression is a mental health condition that includes symptoms of persistent low mood, tiredness and disinterest in things you normally enjoy. Evidence shows that depression increases a person’s risk of developing dementia.
“It is important to note that while there is a connection, not everyone who has depression will go on to develop dementia and not everyone with dementia will develop depression.”
In the report ‘Depression and Neurology’ published by SEN in 2022, it explained that a history of depression, “regardless of when it was suffered,” seems to triple the risk of developing Parkinson’s. The same applies to dementia. Although studies usually focus on Alzheimer’s disease due to its prevalence, “Some authors have estimated that 10% of Alzheimer’s cases produced each year could be attributable to depression,” the report said.
The report said there is a group of people who suffer their first depression when they are already older.It said: “Perhaps this comes six months, one or two years before starting to suffer from dementia. That is why it is now considered that it can become an early symptom,” indicates the psychiatrist. The explanation was “that brain which is disintegrating may first start giving symptoms related to mental health and then the patient begins to have memory problems, disorientation.”
Javier Camiña added: “In chronic depression there can be sedentarism and little physical activity, related to cardiovascular risk factors which increase the chances of suffering a stroke. Suffering from this latter increases in turn the possibilities of epilepsy and dementia. In the end, circumstances accumulate which worsen the symptoms presented by the person, deteriorate their quality of life and ultimately increase the risk of presenting other diseases.”
SEN data showed from 30% to 50% of patients with a neurological disease suffer symptoms of this mental health disorder
Mr Aguera said: “It is known that diseases usually considered ‘purely neurological’, such as dementia, epilepsy or movement disorders have a higher rate of depression and anxiety.” Some studies even indicate that more than 60% of adults with epilepsy show depressive symptoms. “In neurodegenerative diseases, certain areas of the brain are destroyed and these can cause symptoms of all kinds.
“For example, Parkinson’s is not only a movement pathology that causes tremors and affects the areas of coordination of brain movements, but also others, because the brain functions as a “whole,” says the psychiatrist. Up to 40% of patients suffer from depression and “as the disease progresses, they can suffer episodes of psychosis, delusions or hallucinations because these brain structures function in a very complex way.”