Neurology
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
 QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     


This Article
Right arrow Figures Only
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Correspondence:
Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when Correspondence are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Wilson, R.S.
Right arrow Articles by Bennett, D.A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Wilson, R.S.
Right arrow Articles by Bennett, D.A.
Related Collections
Right arrow Depression
Right arrow All Cognitive Disorders/Dementia
Right arrow Alzheimer's disease
NEUROLOGY 2003;61:1102-1107
© 2003 American Academy of Neurology

Depressive symptoms, clinical AD, and cortical plaques and tangles in older persons

R.S. Wilson, PhD, J.A. Schneider, MD, J.L. Bienias, ScD, S.E. Arnold, MD, D.A. Evans, MD and D.A. Bennett, MD

From Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center and Rush Institute for Healthy Aging (Drs. Wilson, Schneider, Bienias, Evans, and Bennett) and Departments of Neurological Sciences (Drs. Wilson, Schneider, and Bennett), Internal Medicine (Drs. Bienias and Evans), and Psychology (Dr. Wilson), Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center, Chicago, IL; and Department of Psychiatry (Dr. Arnold), University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Robert S. Wilson, Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center, 1645 West Jackson Blvd., Suite 675, Chicago, IL 60612; e-mail: rwilson{at}rush.edu

Background: Depressive symptoms in old age have been associated with risk of Alzheimer disease (AD), but it is uncertain whether they are an independent risk factor for disease or an early clinical sign of its underlying pathology.

Methods: A group of 130 older Catholic nuns, priests, and brothers underwent detailed annual clinical evaluations and brain autopsy at death. The evaluations included administration of a modified 10-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) and 19 cognitive performance tests and clinical classification of dementia and AD. On postmortem examination, neuritic plaques, diffuse plaques, and neurofibrillary tangles in tissue samples from four cortical regions were counted, and a previously established composite measure of cortical plaque and tangle density (range 0 to 2.98) was derived. All analyses were adjusted for age, sex, and education.

Results: Participants reported a mean 1.5 depressive symptoms (SD 1.6) on the CES-D scale averaged across evaluations. In a logistic regression model, the odds of clinically diagnosed AD proximate to death increased by 1.33 (95% CI 1.01 to 1.76) for each depressive symptom and by 8.41 (95% CI 3.49 to 20.26) for each unit on the composite measure of pathology. In subsequent analyses, depressive symptoms were not related to level of pathology and did not modify the relation of pathology to clinical AD. In a series of linear regression models that controlled for pathology, depressive symptoms were related to level of cognitive function proximate to death and did not modify the association of pathology with cognition.

Conclusion: The association of depressive symptoms with clinical AD and cognitive impairment appears to be independent of cortical plaques and tangles.


Received June 10, 2002. Accepted in final form June 26, 2003.




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
Arch NeurolHome page
P. A. Boyle, A. S. Buchman, R. S. Wilson, S. E. Leurgans, and D. A. Bennett
Association of Muscle Strength With the Risk of Alzheimer Disease and the Rate of Cognitive Decline in Community-Dwelling Older Persons
Arch Neurol, November 1, 2009; 66(11): 1339 - 1344.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med SciHome page
M. Niti, K.-B. Yap, E.-H. Kua, and T.-P. Ng
APOE-{epsilon}4, Depressive Symptoms, and Cognitive Decline in Chinese Older Adults: Singapore Longitudinal Aging Studies
J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci, February 1, 2009; 64A(2): 306 - 311.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Arch Gen PsychiatryHome page
R. S. Wilson, S. E. Arnold, T. L. Beck, J. L. Bienias, and D. A. Bennett
Change in Depressive Symptoms During the Prodromal Phase of Alzheimer Disease
Arch Gen Psychiatry, April 1, 2008; 65(4): 439 - 445.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical SciencesHome page
H. H. Atkinson, C. Rosano, E. M. Simonsick, J. D. Williamson, C. Davis, W. T. Ambrosius, S. R. Rapp, M. Cesari, A. B. Newman, T. B. Harris, et al.
Cognitive Function, Gait Speed Decline, and Comorbidities: The Health, Aging and Body Composition Study
J. Gerontol. A Biol. Sci. Med. Sci., August 1, 2007; 62(8): 844 - 850.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Psychosom. Med.Home page
A. S. Buchman, P. A. Boyle, R. S. Wilson, Y. Tang, and D. A. Bennett
Frailty is Associated With Incident Alzheimer's Disease and Cognitive Decline in the Elderly
Psychosom Med, June 1, 2007; 69(5): 483 - 489.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Arch Gen PsychiatryHome page
R. L. Ownby, E. Crocco, A. Acevedo, V. John, and D. Loewenstein
Depression and Risk for Alzheimer Disease: Systematic Review, Meta-analysis, and Metaregression Analysis.
Arch Gen Psychiatry, May 1, 2006; 63(5): 530 - 538.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
J. Neurol. Neurosurg. PsychiatryHome page
D A Bennett, J A Schneider, R S Wilson, J L Bienias, E Berry-Kravis, and S E Arnold
Amyloid mediates the association of apolipoprotein E e4 allele to cognitive function in older people
J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry, September 1, 2005; 76(9): 1194 - 1199.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Arch NeurolHome page
L. Rozzini, B. V. Chilovi, M. Trabucchi, and A. Padovani
Depression Is Unrelated to Conversion to Dementia in Patients With Mild Cognitive Impairment
Arch Neurol, March 1, 2005; 62(3): 505 - 505.
[Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Arch NeurolHome page
Z. Arvanitakis, R. S. Wilson, and D. A. Bennett
Diabetes Mellitus and Alzheimer Disease--Reply
Arch Neurol, February 1, 2005; 62(2): 330 - 331.
[Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
NeurologyHome page
J. P. Kelly, C. M. Filley, R. S. Wilson, and D. A. Bennett
Proneness to psychological distress is associated with risk of Alzheimer's disease
Neurology, September 14, 2004; 63(5): 941 - 941.
[Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
J. Neurol. Neurosurg. PsychiatryHome page
R S Wilson, C F Mendes de Leon, D A Bennett, J L Bienias, and D A Evans
Depressive symptoms and cognitive decline in a community population of older persons
J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry, January 1, 2004; 75(1): 126 - 129.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
NeurologyHome page
R. S. Wilson, D. A. Evans, J. L. Bienias, C. F. Mendes de Leon, J. A. Schneider, and D. A. Bennett
Proneness to psychological distress is associated with risk of Alzheimer's disease
Neurology, December 9, 2003; 61(11): 1479 - 1485.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]




HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2003 by AAN Enterprises, Inc.