On the overlap between apathy and depression in dementia. Issue 8 (15th July 2005)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Starkstein, S E; Ingram, L; Garau, M L; Mizrahi, R
• Is Part Of: Journal of neurology, neurosurgery and psychiatry. Volume 76:Issue 8(2005)
• Page Start: 1070
• Page End: 1074
• Publication Date: 2005-07-15
• Subjects: AD, Alzheimer's disease -- CAMDEX, Cambridge Examination for Mental Disorders of the Elderly -- MMSE, Mini-Mental State Examination -- SCID, Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV; abulia -- anxiety -- apathy -- dementia -- depression; Neurology -- Periodicals; Nervous system -- Surgery -- Periodicals; Psychiatry -- Periodicals; 616.8
• DOI: 10.1136/jnnp.2004.052795
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0022-3050

Abstract

Abstract : Background: Whereas apathy is increasingly recognised as a frequent abnormal behaviour in dementia, its overlap with depression remains poorly understood. Aims: To assess the psychometric characteristics of a structured interview for apathy, and to examine the overlap between apathy and depression in dementia. Methods: A total of 150 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) underwent a comprehensive psychiatric and cognitive assessment. Results: Twelve per cent of the sample met criteria for both apathy and depression, 7% met criteria for apathy only, and 31% met criteria for depression only. Apathy (but not depression) was significantly associated with more severe cognitive deficits. Apathy and anxiety scores accounted for 65% of the variance of depression scores in dementia, and the diagnosis of apathy had a minor impact on the rating of severity of depression. Conclusions: The Structured Interview for Apathy demonstrated adequate psychometric characteristics. Using a novel structured interview for apathy in AD we demonstrated that whereas the construct of depression primarily consists of symptom clusters of apathy and anxiety, apathy is a behavioural dimension independent of depression.