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62/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 62 out of 100. Getting a diagnosis

Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis

Background It remains unclear whether depression increases the risk for dementia in the elderly. We evaluated the relationship between depressed mood at baseline and the incidence of dementia, particularly Alzheimer's disease, in the elderly living in the community. Methods A total of 1070 elderly individuals, aged 60 years or older, were identified as part of a registry for dementia in the Washington Heights community of North Manhattan, NY. In a prospective, longitudinal design with follow-up for 1 to 5 years, annual physician evaluation and neuropsychological testing were used to assess levels of cognitive impairment and to diagnose dementia. Depressive symptoms were evaluated with the 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression. Based on clinical considerations and a validity study, a positive score for the depressed mood item was used in statistical analyses. To confirm the results, the total Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression score was also evaluated as the "depression" variable. Results Of the 1070 subjects, 218 met criteria for dementia at baseline evaluation. In the 852 subjects without dementia, depressed mood was more common in individuals with greater cognitive impairment. In a follow-up study of 478 of these subjects without dementia (mean +/- SD, 2.54 +/- 1.12 years of follow-up), the effect of baseline depressed mood on the end-point diagnosis of dementia (93% had possible or probable Alzheimer's disease) was evaluated in a Cox proportional hazards model. Depressed mood at baseline was associated with an increased risk of incident dementia (relative risk, 2.94; 95% confidence interval, 1.76 to 4.91; P Conclusions Depressed mood moderately increased the risk of developing dementia, primarily Alzheimer's disease. Whether depressed mood is a very early manifestation of Alzheimer's disease, or increases susceptibility through another mechanism, remains to be determined.

Key findings

To confirm the results, the total Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression score was also evaluated as the "depression" variable.
Results Of the 1070 subjects, 218 met criteria for dementia at baseline evaluation.
Depressed mood at baseline was associated with an increased risk of incident dementia (relative risk, 2.94; 95% confidence interval, 1.76 to 4.91; P Conclusions Depressed mood moderately increased the risk of developing dementia, primarily Alzheimer's disease.

Why it matters

In this community study, depressed mood at baseline was associated with an increased risk of incident dementia, primarily Alzheimer's disease. It reports an association only and does not show that treating depression prevents or cures Alzheimer's disease.

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Study details

Study designlongitudinal study
Participants1,070
Evidence strengthModerate

How this study scored 62/100

Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a longitudinal study following the same people over time. Scored zero for effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on institution's track record, so that was left out: it earned 60 of the 97 points we could judge it on, which is 62 out of 100.

Component	Points	Why
Journal tier	7 / 10	Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Archives of general psychiatry)
Journal's citation record	4 / 4	Archives of General Psychiatry: journal h-index 543 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29)
Study design	7 / 12	A longitudinal study following the same people over time
Strength of evidence	3 / 5	Rated “moderate” in our summary
Peer-review validation	10 / 10	Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal.
How recent	1 / 5	1996 — older than 20 years, still counted
Sample size	3 / 4	1,070 participants
Effect reported	0 / 3	No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Studied in people	3 / 3	Studied in people (participant count stated)
Randomised / blinded	0 / 2	No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Times cited	6 / 7	Cited 549 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	3 / 5	17.2 citations a year over 32 year(s) since 1996
Impact for its field and year	4 / 6	Cited 15.6× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here	3 / 6	Cited by 27 other studies in this library
Still being cited	1 / 4	Cited 12 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	3 / 4	Last-listed author Davangere P. Devanand: h-index 59 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	— / 3	No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score
Multi-centre collaboration	0 / 3	OpenAlex lists 0 institution(s) in 0 countries — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete)
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 8629893)
Free to read	0 / 2	Behind a paywall — scores zero
Points	60 / 97	Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 60 of the 97 points we could judge it on is 62 out of 100.
Total	62 / 100	—

What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →

Read the original

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Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris

Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record names 8 authors; APA and Vancouver show the first six, BibTeX and the downloads carry all of them. Check the citation against the original before you use it.

APA 7th

Devanand, D. P., Sano, M., Tang, M. X., Taylor, S., Gurland, B. J., Wilder, D., et al. (1996). Depressed mood and the incidence of Alzheimer's disease in the elderly living in the community. Archives of general psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.1996.01830020093011

Vancouver

Devanand DP, Sano M, Tang MX, Taylor S, Gurland BJ, Wilder D, et al. Depressed mood and the incidence of Alzheimer's disease in the elderly living in the community. Archives of general psychiatry. 1996. doi:10.1001/archpsyc.1996.01830020093011. PMID: 8629893.

BibTeX

@article{devanand1996-8629893,
  author  = {Devanand, D. P. and Sano, M. and Tang, M. X. and Taylor, S. and Gurland, B. J. and Wilder, D. and Stern, Y. and Mayeux, R.},
  title   = {{Depressed mood and the incidence of Alzheimer's disease in the elderly living in the community}},
  journal = {Archives of general psychiatry},
  year    = {1996},
  doi     = {10.1001/archpsyc.1996.01830020093011},
  pmid    = {8629893},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.1996.01830020093011}
}

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