Why Depression Matters More for Dementia in Females: Global Population Evidence
You, W.
Show abstract
Depression and dementia frequently co-occur, yet sex-specific population-level associations remain unclear. This ecological study examined cross-national relationships between sex-specific depressive disorder incidence and dementia incidence using Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation data. Analyses included sex-stratified scatterplots, Pearson and Spearman correlations, principal component analysis, partial correlations adjusting for macro-structural factors, and sex-specific multiple linear regression. Visual analyses suggested positive associations in both sexes, but patterns were stronger and more structured among females. Female depressive disorder incidence correlated with dementia incidence in females and males, clustered with structural-development indicators, and remained associated after adjustment. Male depressive disorder incidence showed no significant associations. Overall, depressive disorder incidence was independently associated with dementia incidence among females but not males, supporting a sex-differentiated population level mental health dementia relationship with implications for global womens health and ageing. These findings inform sex-sensitive surveillance, prevention, and policy frameworks in rapidly ageing societies worldwide, particularly within resource-constrained transitional contexts.
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