The nature of depression in dementia : a narrative review

![CDATA[Depression is comorbid with various types of dementias (Amore, Tagariello, Laterza, & Savoia, 2007; Baruch, Burgess, Pillai, & Allan, 2019; Kuring, Mathias, & Ward, 2018). Depression is reported to be one of the highest mental health problems occurring in the elderly population and a common symptom of individuals with dementia (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2015). In most Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients, depressive symptomatology presents as mild to moderate. Severe forms of depression are less prevalent; 5%-30% of AD patients may be diagnosed with a major depressive episode (Reichman & Coyne, 1995). Depressive symptoms in dementia include apathy, slow movement, dysthymia, or minor and atypical depressive syndromes (Teri & Wagner, 1992). Several studies have shown that depression in AD represents a relapse of preexisting depression in less than 10% of AD patients (Jaroudi et al., 2017). However, for most AD patients, the symptoms of depression are developing for the first time.]]