BBC news submitted a report which established that having depression might raise the risk of developing dementia in the later parts of life by almost two times.

It revealed this after carrying out a 17-year study on around 1,000 elderly people and found that 22% of those who were experiencing depression at the initial periods developed dementia, in contrast to 17% of those who were not experiencing depression.

This is a well-made study and was precisely reported by the BBC. It has a number of powerful elements, and adds to the proof of an association between the two conditions.

However, as the researchers are of the opinion, this does not essentially mean that depression tends to cause dementia and the cause for the link between the two conditions is still uncertain.

It is unidentified if depression is a cause of risk for dementia, whether it is an early sign of cognitive decline or if definite alterations in the brain are linked with both conditions.

Also, definite lifestyle factors that were not measured by this study, for example poor diet, lack of physical activity and social interaction, might also be the reason due to which there may be an increase the risk of both depression and dementia.