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RNZ News
02-06-2025
- General
- RNZ News
Depression and anxiety increase dementia risk by 30-40 percent, study finds
Dr Etuini Ma'u, from Auckland University's department of psychological medicine. Photo: Supplied/Pasifika Medical Association Depression and anxiety can lead to a significantly higher risk of dementia later in life, according to new research out of Auckland University. In a briefing from the Public Health Communication Centre, Dr Etuini Ma'u and co-authors from the university's Department of Psychological Medicine report finding common mental health conditions, such as depression and anxiety, substantially increase a person's risk of developing dementia. Using data from the New Zealand Health Survey, the researchers followed adults who had reported a diagnosis of depression, anxiety or bipolar disorder to assess their future risk of dementia. The results showed anxiety was linked to a 30 percent higher risk of dementia and depression increased the risk by 40 percent. Bipolar disorder was associated with nearly a threefold increase, psychological distress more than doubled dementia risk and severe distress nearly tripled it. Ma'u, a senior lecturer and consultant psychiatrist, said depression had for a long time been considered a risk factor for dementia, but previously there had not been enough strong evidence to link anxiety, biopolar or psychotic disorders. This study had aimed to "add to that evidence base", Ma'u said. It built on some existing studies - one from 2022, also from the University of Auckland, had found depression elevated dementia risk by three to four times. But that study had looked at people in hospital. "You've kind of self-selected a really severe group of mental disorders and we know that, in a New Zealand setting, most people with depression and anxiety are managed in the community." Ma'u said this research wanted to study a more representative risk for the general population. The Public Health Communication Centre briefing noted anxiety and depression symptoms were on the rise - between 2016 and 2023, the number of New Zealanders reporting symptoms rose by more than half. However, the number of people reporting they could not get the mental health support they needed also rose by 50 percent. As New Zealand's population aged, dementia rates were projected to double by 2050, from an estimated 83,000 cases today to 167,000 by 2050. Ma'u said a "life course" approach was needed - starting in childhood - to reduce the effects of anxiety and depression. "We talk about dementia as being something that affects older people, but what we know is that actually, the cumulative and incremental damage happens to our brain over the course of a lifetime eventually overwhelm our brains' ability to cope, and that's a dementia that we see. "We need to be looking right back to childhood." But change could not come from an individual level, he said. "Effective interventions are going to have to come from a policy and legislative level, so that we can address some of these broader determinants of health." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
The Guardian
03-03-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘Gandalf' accused of selling illegal medicinal cannabis in New Zealand
Police have shut down the alleged medicinal cannabis operation of one of New Zealand's most renowned 'green fairies', prompting an outpouring of support from a prominent politician and the hundreds of people who rely on such products to ease their pain. Police raided the rural Northland property of 66-year-old Paul Smith – more widely known as 'Gandalf' – last week, destroying plants and greenhouses and seizing cannabis products. Smith was charged with cultivating, possessing for supply and selling cannabis – which could carry an eight-year jail sentence – and was summonsed to court. Medicinal cannabis has been legal in New Zealand since 2020, but patients are reliant on gaining a doctor's prescription to access it for treatment. So-called 'green fairies' provide cheaper, more readily available, hidden market products. More than 50 protesters gathered outside Whangārei District Court on Monday where Smith pleaded not guilty to the charges. 'This isn't just an attack on one man, it's an assault on hundreds of patients who rely on … affordable relief,' said protest organiser Pearl Schomburg, who is a patient of Gandalf's and the convener of Auckland Patients Group – an advocacy group pushing for cannabis law reform. About a dozen police officers arrived at Gandalf's property last week with sledgehammers and axes to destroy roughly 40 plants and greenhouses, Schomburg told the Guardian. 'They ransacked his house and took away all of his … thank-you cards and letters.' Smith was 'no criminal mastermind' she said. 'He's a compassionate, barefoot hippy with a battered truck and a heart of gold.' People wishing to access medicinal cannabis do not always succeed in obtaining a prescription or can feel discomfort asking their doctors for one, due to the stigma surrounding cannabis. For others, the up to $400 a month price-tag puts the legal products out of reach, Schomburg said. 'The only people that can access legal cannabis currently in New Zealand are the wealthy – there is not equality of access to these products,' she said. Smith thanked his supporters in a short video shared to social media and a donations page set up to help pay for his legal fees. 'To all you lovely people out there, I give you a big hug, a heartfelt thanks for all your kind words and support … I've never experienced anything like this in all my life.' Cannabis is New Zealand's most commonly used illicit drug, with over half a million adults having used it between 2023 and 2024, according to the NZ Health Survey. In 2020, the country narrowly voted against legalising cannabis. Green Party co-leader, Chlöe Swarbrick threw her support behind the protesters, saying the raid on Smith was 'an absolutely abysmal waste of public resources'. The costly 'war on drugs' had done little to reduce drug use or move addiction statistics, she said, adding that a new approach based in harm reduction and evidence was necessary. Swarbrick – who has long advocated for the legalisation of cannabis – pointed to a recent Massey University study showing two-thirds of New Zealand's medicinal cannabis users still access it through the hidden market, mostly due to the expense of legal cannabis. 'That should be a really clear sign that the rules that we have in place right now are not working, and that we should do something about [them]… instead of terrorising a 66-year-old man.' In a statement to the Guardian, the police said it would be inappropriate for them to comment on Smith's case, as the matter was before the courts.
