Is anxiety an early sign of Alzheimer's disease?
New Delhi, Apr 04 (ANI): Anxiety could be an early indicator of Alzheimer's disease, according to a study. Alzheimer's disease is a neurodegenerative condition that causes the decline of cognitive function and the inability to carry out daily life activities. Investigators at Brigham and Women's Hospital examined the association of brain amyloid beta and longitudinal measures of depression and depressive symptoms in cognitively normal, older adults. Their findings suggest that higher levels of amyloid beta may be associated with increasing symptoms of anxiety in these individuals. These results support the theory that neuropsychiatric symptoms could be an early indicator of AD. The team calculated total GDS scores as well as scores for three clusters symptoms of depression: anhedonia, dysphoria, and anxiety. These scores were looked at over a span of five years. From their research, the team found that higher brain amyloid beta burden was associated with increasing anxiety symptoms over time in cognitively normal older adults. The study has been published in the American Journal of Psychiatry.
