Depression and risk of cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease. Results from two prospective community-based studies in the Netherlands.

Background: Depression may be associated with cognitive decline in elderly people with impaired cognition. Aims: To investigate whether depressed elderly people with normal cognition are at increased risk of cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease. Methods: Two independent samples of older people with normal cognition were selected from the community-based Amsterdam Study of the Elderly (AMSTEL) and the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (LASA). In AMSTEL, depression was assessed by means of the Geriatric Mental State Schedule. Clinical diagnoses of incident Alzheimer's disease were made usi... Mehr ...