Chronic systemic inflammation is associated with symptoms of late-life depression: The ARIC Study

Depressive symptoms are highly prevalent among older adults1 and have been associated with reduced quality of life, disability, and elevated rates of mortality.2,3 Depression that emerges during older adulthood differs in several ways from depression symptoms that begin earlier in life with regard to associated comorbidity,4 genetic determinants,5 and response to anti-depressive treatment.6 Three hypotheses regarding the etiology of late-life depression, which are not mutually exclusive, have gained support: (1) the neurodegenerative hypothesis suggests that depression precedes or occurs concurrently with cognitive decline in the context of neurodegenerative disease;7 (2) the vascular hypothesis posits that the emergence of cerebral large and small vessel disease may promote depression sympoms;8 (3) the inflammatory hypothesis suggests that the continuous production of pro-inflammatory mediators in the periphery and central nervous system can cause neuro-molecular changes which manifest as reduced mood and neurovegetative symptoms.
Source: The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry - Category: Geriatrics Authors: Tags: Regular Research Article Source Type: research