A relationship between depression and the dementing process has been fairly well established in both patients with mild cognitive impairment ... Show moreA relationship between depression and the dementing process has been fairly well established in both patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia (e.g., Apostolova and Cummings, 2008; Lyketsos et al., 2002; Starkstein et al., 2005). However, less clear is the temporal role depression plays in the dementing process, with the possibilities including depression as a risk factor, a prodrome, or a consequence of dementia. Variables that have been considered to affect this relationship include gender, depression severity, lifetime history of depression, and etiology of cognitive decline. The current study examined the temporal relationship between depression and dementia in a sample of 218 patients with MCI or dementia who were seen for at least one follow-up visit at the neuropsychology service of an urban university medical center. Results did not reveal support for either the prodrome or the risk factor hypothesis of the depression-dementia relationship. However, it was found that people with a past history of depression who did not show depressive symptoms concurrent with their cognitive decline converted most quickly to dementia, suggesting a unique depression-dementia relationship in people with earlier-life depression. Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, July 2011 Show less
