Risk of dementia in people with depressive and bipolar disorders increases with increasing number of prior affective episodes

Kessing LV, Andersen PK. Does the risk of developing dementia increase with the number of episodes in patients with depressive disorder and in patients with bipolar disorder? J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2004;75:1662–6. [OpenUrl][1][Abstract/FREE Full Text][2] Q Does an increasing number of prior affective episodes increase the risk of developing dementia in people with depressive and bipolar disorders? ### ![Graphic][3] Design: Cohort study. ### ![Graphic][4] Follow up period: 14 years. ### ![Graphic][5] Setting: Denmark from 1970 to 1999. ### ![Graphic][6] People: 18 726 people with depressive disorder (ICD-8) and 4248 people with bipolar disorder (ICD-10). Inclusions: people who at their first discharge from a psychiatric hospital after 1 January 1970 had a diagnosis of primary affective disorder. Main exclusions: diagnosis of organic psychosis or schizophrenia at discharge before 1 January 1986. ### ![Graphic][7] Risk factors: The Denmark nationwide register was used to identify participants’ psychiatric ward admissions and discharge diagnoses. The relation between number of prior hospital admissions and subsequent dementia diagnosis was estimated using a … [1]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DJournal%2Bof%2BNeurology%252C%2BNeurosurgery%2B%2526%2BPsychiatry%26rft.stitle%253DJ.%2BNeurol.%2BNeurosurg.%2BPsychiatry%26rft.issn%253D0022-3050%26rft.aulast%253DKessing%26rft.auinit1%253DL%2BV%26rft.volume%253D75%26rft.issue%253D12%26rft.spage%253D1662%26rft.epage%253D1666%26rft.atitle%253DDoes%2Bthe%2Brisk%2Bof%2Bdeveloping%2Bdementia%2Bincrease%2Bwith%2Bthe%2Bnumber%2Bof%2Bepisodes%2Bin%2Bpatients%2Bwith%2Bdepressive%2Bdisorder%2Band%2Bin%2Bpatients%2Bwith%2Bbipolar%2Bdisorder%253F%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Adoi%252F10.1136%252Fjnnp.2003.031773%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Apmid%252F15548477%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [2]: /lookup/ijlink?linkType=ABST&journalCode=jnnp&resid=75/12/1662&atom=%2Febmental%2F8%2F2%2F46.atom [3]: /embed/inline-graphic-1.gif [4]: /embed/inline-graphic-2.gif [5]: /embed/inline-graphic-3.gif [6]: /embed/inline-graphic-4.gif [7]: /embed/inline-graphic-5.gif