The reason why we become lethargic with age is vascular depression

Relationship between vascular and depression in the elderly

We think it's natural for everyone to become sluggish and lethargic in speech and action as we age. However, it has been argued that the psychological changes that occur in the elderly are not actually caused by the normal aging process, but by vascular depression caused by blockages in the blood vessels in the brain. In fact, a study of 1,060 elderly people in the Korean community found that vascular depression accounted for 33% of major depressive disorder in those aged 65-69, compared to 75% among those aged 70-74 and 100% among those aged 75 and over.

In the 1980s, with the development of MRI and other diagnostic brain imaging technologies, Dr. Krishnan and Dr. Fujigawa each reported that a number of white matter* in the brain were observed to turn white due to depression in the elderly. This is a broken neural circuit in the brain connected to the frontal lobe. When the frontal lobe fails, there is a lack of motivation, spontaneity, and slowness in speech and action.

*Brain white matter: The nerve fibers that transmit information between the gray matter and the gray matter of the brain. 

In fact, the appearance of depression when blood vessels are blocked has been observed steadily for a long time. According to data on stroke cases reported up to the 1970s, 40 to 50 percent of stroke patients were known to experience depression.

However, the difference is that depression that occurs after a stroke has symptoms that appear suddenly, while subcortical ischemic vascular depression has symptoms that appear gradually due to blockage of micro blood vessels. Because the process progresses slowly, it may be misunderstood as an aging process and give up on solving it.

Just as a car rusts and breaks down over time, the blood vessels in our body can harden or become clogged as we age. Remembering that diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and bad lifestyle habits such as smoking and drinking alcohol can worsen not only physical health but also mental health, we should make efforts to treat blood vessels on a daily basis.