ArticleAlzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association2025
Cumulative and variable depression symptom exposure and incident dementia: Panel data analysis of four longitudinal cohort studies.
Article in Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
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
6 citing papers in PubMed.
- Interpreting "intermittent" psychological distress in dementia research: A classification that obscures more than it reveals.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026Article
- Plasma GFAP modifies the association of depressive symptoms with cognitive function: A population-based study.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026Article
- Longitudinal Associations of Cumulative Depression Burden With Cardiovascular Diseases and All-Cause Death Among Middle-Aged and Older Population: Evidence From 2 Nationwide Cohort Studies.Journal of the American Heart Association · 2026Article
- Cognitive Impairment, Dementia and Depression in Older Adults.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Cumulative and variable depression symptom exposure and incident dementia: Panel data analysis of four longitudinal cohort studies.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2025Article
- Association of Social Frailty With Incident Dementia and Cognitive Decline in Middle-Aged and Older Adults: A Prospective Cohort Study.Inquiry : a journal of medical care organization, provision and financingArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
introductionLate-life depression symptoms are implicated in dementia. We examined how cumulative burden, duration, trajectory, and variability of depression symptoms are associated with incident dementia.
methodsA prospective cohort analysis of 23,305 dementia-free adults from four population studies (English Longitudinal Study of Ageing [ELSA], Health and Retirement Study [HRS], Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe [SHARE], China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study [CHARLS]) with repeated Centre for Epidemiologic Studies of Depression scale (CES-D)/Euro-Depression scale (EURO-D) assessments across three waves and a pooled median follow-up of ≈10.8 years. Exposures included CumSD/cumulative average depression symptom score (CumADS), high-symptom exposure duration, visit-to-visit variability (Standard deviation [SD], coefficient of variation [CV], variation independent of the mean [VIM]), and time-course patterns. Associations were analyzed using multivariable-adjusted Cox regression.
resultsEach 1-unit increase in cumulative score was associated with a 3%-8% higher dementia hazard across cohorts. Highest versus lowest cumulative quartiles showed markedly elevated risk. Sustained high exposure for 4 years conferred ≈2.7-3.9× greater risk. Higher variability and worsening trajectories were also linked to higher incidence. Associations were robust across subgroups. DISCUSSION: Persistent and unstable depression symptoms independently predict higher dementia risk, supporting longitudinal mood monitoring and sustained management. HIGHLIGHTS: Multi-cohort study of 23,305 adults (ELSA, HRS, SHARE, CHARLS). Cumulative depression burden shows a dose-response with dementia risk. Highest versus lowest quartile: dementia hazard up to 18× (HRS). Sustained high symptoms (4 years) linked to ≈2.7-3.9× greater risk. Visit-to-visit variability independently associates with higher dementia risk.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.