Antidepressant use does not increase Alzheimer's risk in midlife veterans, reveals study

A recent study published in the recent issue of Alzheimer's and Dementia journal examined the long-term effects of antidepressant use on the risk of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and related dementias (AD/ADRD) among veterans with major depressive disorder (MDD) and found no significant association. The study was conducted within the US Veterans Affairs healthcare system to clarify the conflicting evidence of the influence of antidepressants on the development of AD/ADRD.

The retrospective cohort research spanned over two decades from January 1, 2000 to June 1, 2022 and focused on midlife veterans who were diagnosed with MDD. Also, the study employed inverse probability weighted (IPW) Cox models with time-varying covariates to analyze the data.

Out of the 35,200 identified patients, this study observed a total of 1,056 events of AD/ADRD. The analysis revealed that exposure to antidepressants did not significantly affect the risk of developing AD/ADRD. The hazard ratio for the individuals exposed to any antidepressant when compared to the individuals with no exposure was 0.94 with a 95% confidence interval ranging from 0.81 to 1.09. This indicates no meaningful difference in AD/ADRD risk between the two groups.

Further examination of specific classes of antidepressants also showed no significant associations. However, a stratified analysis by gender revealed a potential risk reduction for the female patients. The research cautioned that the number of female cases were small and this result should be interpreted with caution. The study emphasized that these findings suggest antidepressant use does not increase or decrease the risk of developing AD/ADRD among veterans with MDD. This data indicates that no significant relationship between antidepressant exposure and Alzheimer's risk. 

The gender-specific findings underline the need for further studies. While we observed a risk reduction in female patients, the sample size was too small to draw definitive conclusions and more extensive studies are required to explore this potential association.

Overall, this study provides important insights for healthcare providers treating midlife patients with MDD. The reassurance that antidepressant use does not increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease could influence treatment plans and patient counseling. The gender-specific results highlight an area for future research to ensure that all patient groups receive the most effective and safe care.

Reference:

Ramos‐Cejudo, J., Corrigan, J. K., Zheng, C., Swinnerton, K. N., Jacobson, S. R., La, J., Betensky, R. A., Osorio, R. S., Madanes, S., Pomara, N., Iosifescu, D., Brophy, M., Do, N. V., & Fillmore, N. R. (2024). Antidepressant exposure and long‐term dementia risk in a nationwide retrospective study on US veterans with midlife major depressive disorder. In Alzheimer’s & Dementia. Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.13853