Struggling with concentration or experiencing a decline in personal confidence during midlife could signal an elevated risk of developing dementia later in life, new research suggests.
Academics at University College London (UCL) identified six specific symptoms in middle age that may serve as “early markers of underlying neurodegenerative processes.”
The findings stem from an analysis of data from 5,811 participants in the UK Whitehall II study, who provided detailed information on their health, including mental well-being.
During a follow-up period of an average of 23 years, 586 people developed dementia.
Writing in the journal Lancet Psychiatry, researchers said six depressive symptoms “emerged as robust midlife indicators of increased dementia risk”.
These include:
- Losing confidence in myself
- Not able to face up to problems
- Not feeling warmth and affection for others
- Nervous and strung-up all the time
- Not satisfied with the way tasks are carried out
- Difficulties concentrating
Those who reported that they had lost confidence in themselves in midlife appeared to carry a 51 per cent increased risk of dementia in later life.
People who said they were “not able to face up to their problems” had a 49 per cent increased risk.
Reporting “not feeling warmth and affection for others” had a 44 per cent raised risk while feeling nervous and “strung up” held a 34 per cent rise in risk of dementia later in life.
Those who were not satisfied with the way tasks are carried out had a 33 per cent increased risk of dementia more than 20 years later, while those who reported difficulties concentrating had a 29 per cent elevated risk.
“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,” the authors wrote.
Lead author of the study, Dr Philipp Frank, from the UCL Division of Psychiatry, said: “Our findings show that dementia risk is linked to a handful of depressive symptoms rather than depression as a whole.
“This symptom-level approach gives us a much clearer picture of who may be more vulnerable decades before dementia develops.
“Everyday symptoms that many people experience in midlife appear to carry important information about long-term brain health.
“Paying attention to these patterns could open new opportunities for early prevention.”
Professor Mika Kivimaki, from the UCL Faculty of Brain Sciences, who leads the Whitehall II study and co-authored the paper, said: “Depression doesn’t have a single shape — symptoms vary widely and often overlap with anxiety.
“We found that these nuanced patterns can reveal who is at higher risk of developing neurological disorders.”
Commenting on the paper, Dr Richard Oakley, associate director of research and innovation at Alzheimer’s Society, said: “The connection between dementia and depression is complicated. It’s encouraging to see this new observational study begin to unpick how dementia and depression are interlinked.
“However, more research is needed to confirm whether these six symptoms also apply to women and ethnic minorities.
“It’s important to note that not everyone who has depression will go on to develop dementia, and people with dementia won’t necessarily develop depression.”
