SynthesisDepression and anxiety2017
The association of antidepressant drug usage with cognitive impairment or dementia, including Alzheimer disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Depression and anxiety, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 60 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
60 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Effect of Vortioxetine on Cognitive Impairment in Patients With Major Depressive Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology · 2022Pooled it
- Efficacy and tolerability of paroxetine in adults with social anxiety disorder: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Medicine · 2020Pooled it
- Cognitive Performance in First-Degree Relatives of Individuals With vs Without Major Depressive Disorder: A Meta-analysis.JAMA psychiatry · 2019Pooled it
- The association of antidepressant drug usage with cognitive impairment or dementia, including Alzheimer disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Depression and anxiety · 2017Pooled it
- Trial
- Trial
- Long-Term Antidepressant Use and Dementia Risk: A Propensity Score-Matched Study of Swiss Older Adults, with an Anticholinergic-Specific Analysis.Drugs - real world outcomes · 2026Article
- Lower Plasma Serotonin is Associated with Higher Amyloid Burden, Hippocampal Atrophy, and Cognitive decline in Alzheimer's Disease: A 24-Month Longitudinal Study.Journal of molecular neuroscience : MN · 2026Article
- Review
- The Comparative Efficacy of Antidepressant and Psychological Therapies on Cognition in Depression: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis.Neuropsychology review · 2025Review
- Psychological Distress and Cognitive Function in Women: Exploring Potential Mediation by Use of Opiates, Sleep Aids, or Minor Tranquilizers.Journal of women's health (2002) · 2025Article
- Linking metabolic syndrome, cerebral small vessel disease, and cognitive health: insights from a subclinical population study using TriNetX.GeroScience · 2025Article
- Human brain organoids containing microglia that have arisen innately adapt to a β-amyloid challenge better than those in which microglia are integrated by co-culture.Stem cell research & therapy · 2024Article
- Psilocybin for dementia prevention? The potential role of psilocybin to alter mechanisms associated with major depression and neurodegenerative diseases.Pharmacology & therapeutics · 2024Review
- Central nervous system medication use around hospitalization.Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · 2024Article
- Antidepressant exposure and long-term dementia risk in a nationwide retrospective study on US veterans with midlife major depressive disorder.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2024Article
- Association between Depressive Mood, Antidepressant Therapy and Neuropsychological Performances: Results from a Cross-Sectional Study on Elderly Patients.Brain sciences · 2024Article
- Revisiting a hypothesis: the neurovascular unit as a link between major depression and neurodegenerative disorders.Frontiers in cellular neuroscience · 2024Article
- Influence of daily life and health profile in subtle cognitive decline of women residing in Spanish religious communities: DeCo religious orders study.Frontiers in public health · 2024Observational
- Alzheimer's disease susceptibility in African American elders: a classification and regression tree (CART) analysis approach.Journal of Social & Health Sciences · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo determine if antidepressant drug usage is associated with cognitive impairment or dementia, including Alzheimer disease (AD).
methodWe conducted a systematic search of Medline, PubMed, PsycINFO, Web of Science, Embase, CINAHL, and the Cochrane Library. An initial screen by abstracts and titles was performed, and relevant full articles were then reviewed and assessed for their methodologic quality. Crude effect estimates were extracted from the included articles and a pooled estimate was obtained using a random effects model.
resultsFive articles were selected from an initial pool of 4,123 articles. Use of antidepressant drugs was associated with a significant twofold increase in the odds of some form of cognitive impairment or dementia (OR = 2.17). Age was identified as a likely modifier of the association between antidepressant use and some form of cognitive impairment or AD/dementia. Studies that included participants with an average age equal to or greater than 65 years showed an increased odds of some form of cognitive impairment with antidepressant drug usage (OR = 1.65), whereas those with participants less than age 65 revealed an even stronger association (OR = 3.25).
conclusionsAntidepressant drug usage is associated with AD/dementia and this is particularly evident if usage begins before age 65. This association may arise due to confounding by depression or depression severity. However, biological mechanisms potentially linking antidepressant exposure to dementia have been described, so an etiological effect of antidepressants is possible. With this confirmation that an association exists, clarification of underlying etiologic pathways requires urgent attention.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.