Analysis of risk factors for depression in Alzheimer’s disease patients

Abstract

Purpose: Depression, which affects about 52% of Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients, can worsen cognitive impairment and increase mortality and suicide rates. We hope to provide clinical evidence for the prevention and treatment of depression in AD patients by investigating related risk factors of depression in AD patients.

Methods: 158 AD inpatients of the Department of Neurology, Daping Hospital from September 2017 to March 2019 were enrolled. General information, laboratory tests, cognitive and emotional function assessments of the inpatients were collected. Logistic regression was used to analyze the risk factors of depression in AD patients, and the relationship between 17 Hamilton depression scale scores and HbA1c levels in AD patients was further analyzed.

Results: The prevalence of age, gender, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and white matter lesions (WML) in the AD with depression group was significantly different from without depression group. Hypertension, T2DM, and WML are independent risk factors for depression in AD patients. The depression scores of AD patients with HbA1c>6.5% were significantly higher than AD patients with HbA1c ≤ 6.5%, and there were significant difference in depression scale scores between using anti-diabetes drugs group and not using anti-diabetes drugs group whose HbA1c level is >6.5%, while no difference in depression scores between using anti-diabetes drugs group and not using anti-diabetes drugs group whose HbA1c level is ≤6.5%.

Conclusion: T2DM is an independent risk factor for AD patients with depression. Increased HbA1c levels aggravate depression in AD patients, and controlling HbA1c levels and anti-diabetes drugs can reduce the severity of depression in AD patients.

Keywords:

• Alzheimer’s disease
• depression
• glycosylated hemoglobin
• anti-diabetes drugs

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81771177 and 81571258).