Apathy and depressive mood in nursing home patients with early-onset dementia

The study explored whether apathy and depressive mood symptoms (DMS) are related to cognitive and functional features of dementia in 63 nursing home (NH) residents with early-onset dementia (EOD). All EOD residents from one NH (n = 41) and a random sample from another NH were assessed for depressive symptoms (Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale [MADRS]), apathy (Neuropsychiatric Inventory [NPI]), global cognitive functions (Mini-Mental State Examination [MMSE]), activities of daily living (ADL, Minimum Data Set-Resident Assessment Instrument [MDS-RAI]), and overall dementia severity (Global Deterioration Scale [GDS]). DMS were not associated with apathy and dementia severity. Regression analyses adjusted for age, gender, the type of dementia, and DMS revealed that dementia severity measures accounted, respectively, for 14% (ADL), 13% (GDS), and 9% (MMSE) of the variance in apathy. In line with previous research in older patients, the higher apathy scores were associated with more cognitive and functional problems in EOD.