People with depression or high levels of depressive symptoms have, on average, a higher risk of developing dementia.  Evidence suggests that treatment with antidepressants improves cognition in people with depression, but it is not known if treatment prevents dementia.

The following pages describe the current evidence that suggests assessment and treatment of depression may be important for reducing dementia risk and provide links to resources for health professionals and for patients.

Depression and dementia evidence – what’s the evidence that depression increases dementia risk?

Clinical resources for depression – assessment and management of depression

Depression resources for patients – links to information on depression for the general public