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Family History of Dementia and Current Depression in Nondemented Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Warren W. Barker, MA, MS

Raymond L. Ownby, MD, PhD

Michael J. Mullan, MD, PhD

Ranjan Duara, MD

Since it has been postulated that mood disturbance in nondemented older adults may represent a prodromal feature of dementia for a subgroup of patients, it would be expected that patients with these symptoms would evidence a greater prevalence of family history of dementia. In a sample of 3225 community-dwelling cognitively intact elderly recruited from a free memory-screening program, we found that current depression was more common in participants with a positive versus a negative family history of dementia in first-degree relatives (17% versus 11%; Fisher's Exact Test, P < .0001). This relationship remained significant after controlling for age, education, gender, ethnicity, and Folstein Mini-Mental State Examination score (OR = 1.5; 95% CI = 1.2-1.9, Wald ² = 15.5, P < .001). The results suggest that symptoms of depression may herald the onset of an incipient dementia syndrome in a subset of geriatric patients. Alternatively, the results may be indicative of familial aggregation of dementia and depression. (J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol 2000; 13:65-71).

Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neurology, Vol. 13, No. 2, 65-71 (2000)
DOI: 10.1177/089198870001300204


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