A new International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry study indicates that the risk of dementia may be elevated in individuals with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), an autoimmune disease affecting a range of systems including the peripheral and central nervous system.
A new International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry study indicates that the risk of dementia may be elevated in individuals with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), an autoimmune disease affecting a range of systems including the peripheral and central nervous system.
In the study of 4886 SLE patients and 24,430 matched controls, the proportion of dementia was higher among SLE patients than controls (1.56% vs. 0.51%). After adjustments, SLE was linked with a 51% higher likelihood of developing dementia.
“This finding should give rise to search for SLE in patients with an ambiguous cause for dementia, especially those with an early onset cognitive decline,” wrote the authors of the study.
Additional Information
Link to Study: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/gps.4819/full
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The rapidly increasing world population of aged people has led to a growing need to focus attention on the problems of mental disorder in late life. The aim of the Journal is to communicate the results of original research in the causes, treatment and care of all forms of mental disorder which affect the elderly. The Journal is of interest to psychiatrists, psychologists, social scientists, nurses and others engaged in therapeutic professions, together with general neurobiological researchers.
The Journal provides an international perspective on the important issue of geriatric psychiatry, and contributions are published from countries throughout the world. Topics covered include epidemiology of mental disorders in old age, clinical aetiological research, post-mortem pathological and neurochemical studies, treatment trials and evaluation of geriatric psychiatry services.
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