Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body dementia are severe neurological conditions that develop gradually over time.
There is currently no curative treatment. Therefore, early detection is important in order to provide appropriate support.
According to a study published in the journal General Psychiatry, depression may be one of the earliest signs that the disease is developing.
This is particularly relevant among older adults who have not previously experienced depressive symptoms.
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What does the research show?
The study is based on Danish health registries. Researchers analyzed data from 17,711 individuals who were diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease or Lewy body dementia between 2007 and 2019.
They compared these individuals with people of the same age and sex who had other chronic conditions such as arthritis, kidney disease, or osteoporosis.
The results show that depression was more prevalent among those who were later diagnosed with Parkinson’s or Lewy body dementia.
The prevalence increased in the years leading up to the diagnosis and was particularly high shortly before the disease was identified.
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Even after diagnosis, these patients experienced depression more frequently than the other patient groups.
Particularly in Lewy body dementia
The study also shows that the association was strongest in cases of Lewy body dementia.
In these patients, depression was even more widespread both before and after diagnosis.
The researchers believe that in some cases, depression may be caused by early changes in the brain rather than solely being a reaction to illness.
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However, they emphasize that far from everyone with depression will go on to develop Parkinson’s disease or dementia.
Nevertheless, they recommend that physicians pay attention to new depressive symptoms in older adults and consider further evaluation.
Sources: Science Daily, and General Psychiatry.
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