5α-Reductase inhibitors, medications such as finasteride and dutasteride, are commonly used as treatments for male-pattern baldness and benign prostatic hyperplasia, or BPH. In recent years, concerns for an increased risk of cognitive decline and dementia from taking these drugs has surfaced. In a new study published in the journal JAMA Network Open, researchers in Sweden collected data from over 2.2 million men aged 50 to 90. They found that for the men taking these 5α-reductase inhibitors, they had an initial increased risk of all-cause dementia, Alzheimer disease, and vascular dementia, but those risks decreased over time. On the other hand, the medications were linked to depression, and the elevated risk of depression remained constant over time. Essentially, it means these popular medications are at least associated with an increased risk of depression.

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