Chronic depression can hurt your brain. Timely treatment can lower risk of dementia, says study

More than 55 million people live with dementia, the term used to describe symptoms of cognitive impairment, around the world. This disabling neurocognitive syndrome mainly affects older adults, but has also affected people in their 30s, 40s and 50s in some cases.

The deterioration starts with short-term memory when an individual forgets where they have kept certain things or why they came to the room. The signs can get serious with time and can cause mood changes, difficulty concentrating or carrying out daily tasks, and struggle to find the right word, among other things.

Being forgetful alone can't be due to dementia. While memory loss may be a part of ageing, other factors such as fatigue or multitasking things can also show similar signs. However, it is no reason to ignore the symptoms.


According to a new study, depression can increase the risks of dementia, and prompt treatment may prevent the condition.

Published in the Biological Psychiatry journal and Elsevier, the study collected data from more than 350,000 participants, including 46,280 participants with depression, from the UK Biobank (a population-based cohort of over 500,000 participants). During the study, 725 of the depressed patients developed dementia.

Led by PhD scholars of Fudan University, the researchers categorised the participants into one of four courses of depression: increasing course, in which mild initial symptoms steadily increase; decreasing course, starting with moderate- or high-severity symptoms but subsequently decreasing; chronically high course of ongoing severe depressive symptoms; and chronically low course, where mild or moderate depressive symptoms are consistently maintained.

The findings showed that depression elevated the risk of dementia by 51 per cent in comparison to participants that were not depressed. However, the degree of risk depended on the course of the depression. Those with increasing, chronically high, or chronically low course depression were more vulnerable to dementia, whereas those with decreasing course faced no greater risk than participants without depression.

The researchers most wanted to know whether the increased risk for dementia could be lowered by receiving depression treatment. Overall, depressed participants who received treatment had a reduced risk of dementia compared to untreated participants by about 30 per cent. When the researchers separated the participants by depression course, they saw that those with increasing and chronically low courses of depression saw a lower risk of dementia with treatment, but those with a chronically high course saw no benefit of treatment in terms of dementia risk.

A healthy mind and body are all about finding the right balance. Staying healthy and leading a quality life can ensure good physical and mental well-being.

Some tips can come in hand are:

Exercise regularly: Being active can help people stay fit and healthy, improving mental and physical well-being. Daily workouts can improve metabolism, uplift mood and increase energy and alertness. Try to take up activities such as sports, dance, yoga or fitness classes that interest you.

A balanced diet: A healthy, nutritious diet helps keep the body and mind healthy. Have more fresh and wholesome food that is packed with omega-3 fatty acids. Eat vitamin D-rich food or take a walk in the morning sun. Mindful eating also contributes to good health.

Get enough sleep: Sound sleep at night relaxes the body, relieves stress and calms the mind.

Say goodbye to bad habits: Conscious steps must be taken daily to get rid of bad habits. One should consider changing habits such as smoking, alcohol consumption, eating junk food and excessive screen time. Regulating our habits will help in making the body and mind healthier.

Try to participate in activities that help calm the mind and improve focus. One can take up journal writing to share their thoughts of the day. Invest time in reading and solving word puzzles and memory games. Practising meditation helps relieve stress, thus improving mental and physical health. One should focus more on positive emotions rather than negative ones.