Home › Research › Risk factors
Depression in dementia: epidemiology, mechanisms, and treatment
Enache D, Winblad B, Aarsland D.. Current opinion in psychiatry, 2011-11-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Purpose of review Depression in people with dementia has important implications, such as reduced quality of life of patients and carers, and is associated with increased costs and reduced cognition. Here, we review recent studies of the epidemiology, course, mechanisms and treatment of depression in people with dementia. Recent findings Depression is both a risk factor and a prodrome of Alzheimer's disease. Depression is a common occurrence in all types of dementias and at all disease stages, including in mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Many studies have explored whether depression in MCI increased the conversion rate to dementia, but findings are inconsistent. Studies of the mechanisms are relatively few and findings inconsistent, but inflammatory, trophic and cerebrovascular factors may contribute, in addition to monoamine deficiency and severity of plaques and tangle pathology. Studies of antidepressants for depression in dementia are inconclusive, with several negative findings reported in recent large studies, suggesting that antidepressant may not confer benefit over placebo. Summary Depression is a common risk factor, prodrome, and accompanying symptom of people with Alzheimer's dementia. The mechanisms are unknown, and there is little evidence of effective therapies.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Enache, D., Winblad, B., & Aarsland, D. (2011). Depression in dementia: epidemiology, mechanisms, and treatment. Current opinion in psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1097/yco.0b013e32834bb9d4
Vancouver
Enache D, Winblad B, Aarsland D. Depression in dementia: epidemiology, mechanisms, and treatment. Current opinion in psychiatry. 2011. doi:10.1097/yco.0b013e32834bb9d4. PMID: 21926624.
BibTeX
@article{enache2011-21926624,
author = {Enache, D. and Winblad, B. and Aarsland, D.},
title = {{Depression in dementia: epidemiology, mechanisms, and treatment}},
journal = {Current opinion in psychiatry},
year = {2011},
doi = {10.1097/yco.0b013e32834bb9d4},
pmid = {21926624},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1097/yco.0b013e32834bb9d4}
}
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
Key findings
- Purpose of review Depression in people with dementia has important implications, such as reduced quality of life of patients and carers, and is associated with increased costs and reduced cognition.
- Studies of antidepressants for depression in dementia are inconclusive, with several negative findings reported in recent large studies, suggesting that antidepressant may not confer benefit over placebo.
Why it matters
This review reports that depression is a common risk factor, prodrome and accompanying symptom in Alzheimer's dementia, but that the mechanisms are unknown. It states that studies of antidepressants for depression in dementia are inconclusive, with several large recent studies finding no benefit over placebo.
New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Risk factors, ranked →
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 47/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomized / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Current opinion in psychiatry) |
| Journal's citation record | 1 / 4 | Current Opinion in Psychiatry: journal h-index 141 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2011 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomized / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 315 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 18.5 citations a year over 17 year(s) since 2011 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 8.9× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 13 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 53 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Dag Aarsland: h-index 141 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Karolinska Institutet: institution h-index 1,477 (OpenAlex) |
| Multicenter collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 21926624) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 47 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
May need a subscription OpenAlex found no free copy of the full text (checked 6 Feb 1020), so the publisher may charge for it. The PubMed abstract is free.
Related
Studies in the library that share something with this one. The line above each title says what.
Later studies that cite this one
13 studies in the alzhub library list this one in their references. Showing the 8 highest-scoring.
Related studies in Risk factors
Also tagged “prevalence”
1,223 studies in the library carry the topic tag “prevalence”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 1,223 tagged studies.