Depressive disorders in Chinese patients with Alzheimer's disease

Objective: The present study was to investigate the prevalence and potentia l risk factors of depressive disorders in Chinese patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Method: A series of consecutive AD patients from the Memory Disorders Clini c of the Veterans General Hospital, Taipei were studied. Psychiatric diagno sis was made according to DSM-III-R criteria with the use of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R (SCID). The Chinese version of the Cognit ive Abilities Screening Instrument (CASI) and the Hamilton Depression Ratin g Scale (HDRS) were also applied. Primary caregivers were interviewed for t he Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) scale, the Barthel Index and the Alzheime r's Deficit Scale (ADS). Results: Among 141 AD patients, seven (5.0%) were diagnosed with major depr ession, 11 (7.8%) with dysthymia and five (3.5%) with depressive disorder n ot otherwise specified. Women were at elevated risk for depressive disorder s and had more severe symptoms of depression. Conclusions: The prevalence of depressive disorders among Chinese AD patien ts is in the middle of the range of western findings. The risk factor for d epression is female gender.