Conditions and diagnosesExplainerMood and depression
Late-life depression and dementia-adjacent mental health
The Alzheimer's Association on the overlap between depression, mild cognitive impairment, and the dementias, and why distinguishing them matters.
Alzheimer's Association9 min readSelected and edited by Dean ShabanAdded
Late-life depression frequently overlaps with (and is mistaken for) early cognitive decline. The Alzheimer's Association's page on depression in dementia is a careful walk through the diagnostic problem and the treatment options.
Useful for adult children noticing changes in a parent and for primary-care clinicians who see both presentations and don't have long to sort them out.
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A note on this article
Mental Hum publishes general education, not medical advice. If something here reflects your own experience, please consider speaking to a clinician. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.