Apathy in Preclinical Alzheimer's Disease: Psychometric Validation of the Apathy Evaluation Scale. Issue 1 (February 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Umucu, Emre; Wyman, Mary; Lee, Beatrice; Zuelsdorff, Megan; Benton, Susan Flowers; Nystrom, Naomi; Johnson, Sterling C.; Carlsson, Cynthia M.; Asthana, Sanjay; Gleason, Carey E.
• Is Part Of: American journal of Alzheimer's disease & other dementias. Volume 34:Issue 1(2019)
• Page Start: 16
• Page End: 22
• Publication Date: 2019-02
• Subjects: apathy -- Apathy Evaluation Scale -- Alzheimer's disease -- cognitively healthy middle-aged individuals -- preclinical Alzheimer's disease; Alzheimer's disease -- Periodicals; Dementia -- Periodicals; Alzheimer's disease -- Patients -- Care -- United States -- Periodicals; 616.83
• DOI: 10.1177/1533317518794020
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1533-3175

Abstract

Objectives: The purpose of the present study was to validate the Apathy Evaluation Scale, self-rated version (AES-S), and assess the severity of apathy in a cognitively healthy middle-aged cohort at risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Method: Three hundred and sixteen middle-aged adults were selected to represent a subset of the Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center Clinical Core: the Investigating Memory in People At-risk, Causes and Treatments cohort. Results: An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with varimax rotation identified 3 subscales: apathy, disinterest, and social withdrawal factors. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the EFA findings. Results indicated acceptable convergent and discriminant validity. The AES-S is a reliable instrument to quantify apathy in cognitively healthy middle-aged individuals at risk for AD. Discussion: This study demonstrates the AES-S is a psychometrically sound measurement tool for assessing levels of apathy in a cognitively healthy middle-aged cohort at risk for AD.