Associations of neuropsychiatric symptoms and antidepressant prescription with survival in Alzheimer's disease

Objective Depression is associated with increased mortality in community samples. The use of antidepressant medication may also increase mortality, however, it is still unclear whether taking antidepressants before or after a diagnosis of dementia influences survival. Design Retrospective. Setting A cohort with a diagnosis of Alzheimer disease (AD) from a large mental health and dementia care database in South London, linked to hospitalization and mortality data. Participants Mild dementia (Mini-Mental State Examination ≥18/30) at the point of diagnosis. Measurements We ascertained antidepressant prescription, either in the 6 months before or after dementia diagnosis, and used the HoNOS65+,…