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

TitleApathy and depressive mood in nursing home patients with early-onset dementia
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2009
AuthorsLeontjevas R, van Hooren S, Waterink W, Mulders A
JournalAmerican Journal of Alzheimer's Disease & Other Dementias®
Volume24
Issue4
Pagination341-348
Date PublishedAug-Sep
ISBN Number1938-2731 (Electronic)<br/>1533-3175 (Print)<br/>1533-3175 (Linking)
Accession Number19346502
KeywordsActivities of Daily Living, Adult, Affect, Age of Onset, Aged, Cognition Disorders/*epidemiology/psychology, Dementia/*epidemiology/psychology, Depressive Disorder/*epidemiology/psychology, Disease Progression, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Mood Disorders/*epidemiology/psychology, Motivation, Nursing Homes/*statistics & numerical data, Prevalence, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Severity of Illness Index
Abstract

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.
DOI10.1177/1533317509333905
PMCID

PMC10846204