New research shows people living with four or more psychiatric disorders are up to 11 times more likely to develop dementia.
Conditions such as anxiety, depression and bipolar have previously been linked to an increased dementia risk. However new research – published in BMJ Mental Health – shows people with multiple mental health disorders face an even higher risk of receiving a dementia diagnosis.
‘This research adds important weight to the argument that we need to view mental health as a key component of long-term brain health,’ Dr Sophie Andrews, a neuropsychiatry researcher who was not involved with the study, said. ‘It’s not about treating mental illness in the moment – it’s about understanding the potential future implications.’
To conduct the study, the team analysed data from 3,688 patients aged 45 and over. The individuals were treated at Bicêtre Hospital in Paris between 2009 and 2023.
All patients had been diagnosed with at least one psychiatric disorder including, substance misuse, psychosis, personality disorder, bipolar disorder, anxiety and depression.
After adjusting for age, sex and cardiovascular risk, experts uncovered a clear pattern: people with two psychiatric conditions were twice as likely to develop dementia, while those with three had over four times the risk.
What’s more, researchers also found the combination of mood and anxiety disorders was particularly associated with dementia, raising the risk by up to 90%.
Dr Marc Leclerc, lead author of the study, said: ‘This is a crucial finding. It suggests that psychiatric comorbidity could act as an early warning sign of dementia and should not be overlooked in clinical practice.’
Concluding the study, which comes amid World Alzheimer’s Month, the authors said more research is required in the area, but they argued early screening and the use of diagnostic tools – such as blood markers – could improve outcomes for high-risk individuals.
Feature image by geralt via Pixabay
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