title: Does late onset depression predispose to dementia? A retrospective, case-controlled study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Recent research suggests that there are clinical and biologic characteristics typical of late onset depression (LOD). Furthermore, evidence has been put forward that LOD may be a prodrome of dementia.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study aims to assess the association between LOD and the development of dementia.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study was conducted in a tertiary care, university-affiliated mental health center providing services for an urban catchment population of 800,000 subjects.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective, case-controlled study was used.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fifty-one patients with LOD who developed dementia at least 1 year after diagnosis of LOD were defined as the index group: 18 males and 33 females, with a mean age of 75.4 ± 9.2 years. These were compared with 51 patients with LOD who did not develop dementia during a 10-year follow-up period. Dementia types were as follows: 73% Alzheimer disease, 24% vascular and mixed dementia, and 3% Parkinson dementia. Patients with LOD who developed dementia were significantly characterized by having longer hospitalization for their first depressive episode (P = .048), having a family history of dementia (P = .022), and having been exposed to the Holocaust as young adults (P = .013).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients with a history of significant traumatic experience in early life and a prolonged onset of depression may be at particular risk of developing dementia. This issue requires further long-term prospective studies.
authors.affiliation: Sackler School of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, 59100 Israel.
authors.forename: Irit
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ohanna
authors.forename: Hava
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Golander
authors.forename: Yoram
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Barak
mesh_terms: D017668:Age of Onset; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003704:Dementia / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric