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Specific midlife depressive symptoms and long-term dementia risk: a 23-year UK prospective cohort study
Frank P, Singh-Manoux A, Pentti J, Batty GD, Sommerlad A, Steptoe A, et al.. Lancet Psychiatry, 2025-12-15
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Background Midlife depression has been associated with an increased risk of dementia, but it remains unclear whether this risk is attributable to specific symptoms. In 1997-99, the baseline for this analysis, participants underwent a clinical examination and completed the 30-item version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-30, a validated screening instrument for detecting clinically significant psychiatric distress in the general population). Interpretation A distinct set of midlife depressive symptoms was associated with an increased risk of dementia, suggesting that these symptoms might be early markers of underlying neurodegenerative processes. These findings could inform earlier identification and more targeted interventions for individuals with depression who are at risk of dementia.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Frank, P., Singh-Manoux, A., Pentti, J., Batty, G. D., Sommerlad, A., Steptoe, A., et al. (2025). Specific midlife depressive symptoms and long-term dementia risk: a 23-year UK prospective cohort study. Lancet Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(25)00331-1
Vancouver
Frank P, Singh-Manoux A, Pentti J, Batty GD, Sommerlad A, Steptoe A, et al. Specific midlife depressive symptoms and long-term dementia risk: a 23-year UK prospective cohort study. Lancet Psychiatry. 2025. doi:10.1016/S2215-0366(25)00331-1. PMID: 41412145.
BibTeX
@article{frank2025-41412145,
author = {Frank, P. and Singh-Manoux, A. and Pentti, J. and Batty, G. D. and Sommerlad, A. and Steptoe, A. and others},
title = {{Specific midlife depressive symptoms and long-term dementia risk: a 23-year UK prospective cohort study}},
journal = {Lancet Psychiatry},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.1016/S2215-0366(25)00331-1},
pmid = {41412145},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(25)00331-1}
}
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Key findings
- Background Midlife depression has been associated with an increased risk of dementia, but it remains unclear whether this risk is attributable to specific symptoms.
- In 1997-99, the baseline for this analysis, participants underwent a clinical examination and completed the 30-item version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-30, a validated screening instrument for detecting clinically significant psychiatric distress in the general population).
- Interpretation A distinct set of midlife depressive symptoms was associated with an increased risk of dementia, suggesting that these symptoms might be early markers of underlying neurodegenerative processes.
- These findings could inform earlier identification and more targeted interventions for individuals with depression who are at risk of dementia.
Why it matters
This study found that a distinct set of midlife depressive symptoms was linked to a higher risk of dementia over 23 years. The authors suggest these symptoms might be early markers of underlying neurodegenerative processes, which could help identify people for earlier intervention.
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Study details
- Study designcohort
- Participants5,811
- Effect sizeHR 1.29-1.51 for six specific midlife depressive symptoms
- Evidence strengthModerate
Limitations
Mostly male, white civil servants; symptoms from a screening questionnaire at one time point; cannot separate prodromal symptoms from causal ones.
How this study scored 60/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a cohort study following people over time. Scored zero for randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on free to read, so that was left out: it earned 59 of the 98 points we could judge it on, which is 60 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Lancet Psychiatry) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | The Lancet Psychiatry: journal h-index 216 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 7 / 12 | A cohort study following 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 | 4 / 5 | 2025 — within 3 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 3 / 4 | 5,811 participants |
| Effect reported | 3 / 3 | Effect reported with a statistic (interval, p-value, ratio or similar) |
| 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 | 2 / 7 | Cited 7 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 1 / 5 | 2.3 citations a year over 3 year(s) since 2025 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 4.4× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 7 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Mika Kivimäki: h-index 208 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University College London: institution h-index 2,029 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 7 institution(s) in 3 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 41412145) |
| Free to read | — / 2 | Access not recorded — left out of this score |
| Points | 59 / 98 | Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 59 of the 98 points we could judge it on is 60 out of 100. |
| Total | 60 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
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