Home › Research › Risk factors
Temporal dynamics in the association between depression and dementia: an umbrella review and meta-analysis
Jacob Brain, Maha Alshahrani, Aysegul Humeyra Kafadar, Eugene Yee Hing Tang, Elissa Burton, Leanne Greene, Deborah A Turnbull, BRONWYN J. MYERS et al.. EClinicalMedicine, 2025-05-29
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Pooled HRs indicated depression present in late-life (HR 1.95, 95% CI: 1.68–2.26; I 2 = 77.5%) and midlife (HR 1.56, 95% CI: 1.12–2.18; I 2 = 97.5%) significantly increased risk of all-cause dementia. Interpretation The findings suggest that depression across the life course may increase dementia risk; however, substantial heterogeneity and review quality should be considered when interpreting the strength of this evidence.
Key findings
- Pooled HRs indicated depression present in late-life (HR 1.95, 95% CI: 1.68–2.26; I 2 = 77.5%) and midlife (HR 1.56, 95% CI: 1.12–2.18; I 2 = 97.5%) significantly increased risk of all-cause dementia.
- Interpretation The findings suggest that depression across the life course may increase dementia risk; however, substantial heterogeneity and review quality should be considered when interpreting the strength of this evidence.
Why it matters
This umbrella review and meta-analysis found that depression in late-life and midlife significantly increased the risk of all-cause dementia. The authors note that substantial heterogeneity and review quality should be considered when interpreting the strength of this evidence.
New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Risk factors, ranked →
Study details
- Study designmeta-analysis
- Participants901,762
- Effect sizeHR 1.95; 77.5%; HR 1.56
- Evidence strengthHigh
How this study scored 73/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a meta-analysis pooling many studies.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (EClinicalMedicine) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | EClinicalMedicine: journal h-index 150 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 12 / 12 | A meta-analysis pooling many studies |
| Strength of evidence | 5 / 5 | Rated “high” 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 | 4 / 4 | 901,762 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 | A review of other studies — randomisation is not credited here |
| Times cited | 3 / 7 | Cited 20 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 6.7 citations a year over 3 year(s) since 2025 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 12.7× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 1 / 6 | Cited by 2 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 20 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Blossom C. M. Stephan: h-index 62 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Newcastle University: institution h-index 932 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 3 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 12 institution(s) in 5 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 40687743) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 73 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2025.103266
- PubMed: 40687743
- Original source →
- Free full text: EClinicalMedicine →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
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's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Brain, J., Alshahrani, M., Kafadar, A. H., Tang, E. Y. H., Burton, E., Greene, L., et al. (2025). Temporal dynamics in the association between depression and dementia: an umbrella review and meta-analysis. EClinicalMedicine. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2025.103266
Vancouver
Brain J, Alshahrani M, Kafadar AH, Tang EYH, Burton E, Greene L, et al. Temporal dynamics in the association between depression and dementia: an umbrella review and meta-analysis. EClinicalMedicine. 2025. doi:10.1016/j.eclinm.2025.103266. PMID: 40687743.
BibTeX
@article{brain2025-40687743,
author = {Brain, Jacob and Alshahrani, Maha and Kafadar, Aysegul Humeyra and Tang, Eugene Yee Hing and Burton, Elissa and Greene, Leanne and Turnbull, Deborah A and MYERS, BRONWYN J. and others},
title = {{Temporal dynamics in the association between depression and dementia: an umbrella review and meta-analysis}},
journal = {EClinicalMedicine},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.1016/j.eclinm.2025.103266},
pmid = {40687743},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2025.103266}
}
Studies this one cites
Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here. Showing 12 of 13.
Later studies that cite this one
2 studies in the alzhub library list this one in their references.
Related studies in Risk factors
Also tagged “biobank”
1,084 studies in the library carry the topic tag “biobank”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 1,084 tagged studies.