Dementia in affective disorder: a case-register study.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of the study was to investigate whether patients with affective disorder have increased risk of developing dementia compared to other groups of psychiatric patients and compared to the general population.


METHODS
In the Danish psychiatric central register, 3363 patients with unipolar affective disorder, 518 patients with bipolar affective disorder, 1025 schizophrenic and 8946 neurotic patients were identified according to the diagnosis at the first ever discharge from psychiatric hospital during the period from 1970 to 1974. The rate of discharge diagnosis of dementia on readmission was estimated during 21 years of follow-up. In addition, the rates were compared with the rates for admission to psychiatric hospitals with a discharge diagnosis of dementia for the total Danish population.


RESULTS
Patients with unipolar and with bipolar affective disorder had a greater risk of receiving a diagnosis of dementia than patients with schizophrenia and those with neurosis. All groups of patients had a higher risk of being given a diagnosis of dementia than gender- and age-matched samples of the general population.


CONCLUSIONS
Patients with affective disorder appear to be at increased risk of developing dementia.
Kessing
L V
LV
Department of Psychiatry, University of Copenhagen, Rigshospitalet, Denmark.
Olsen
E W
EW
Mortensen
P B
PB
Andersen
P K
PK
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D003704:Dementia / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D003718:Denmark / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D009497:Neurotic Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D011159:Population Surveillance; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012042:Registries; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012306:Risk; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D012737:Sex Factors