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.
Leontjevas
Ruslan
R
Department of Psychology, Open University of the Netherlands, Heerlen, The Netherlands.
van Hooren
Susan
S
Waterink
Wim
W
Mulders
Ans
A
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D017668:Age of Onset; D000368:Aged; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D003704:Dementia / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D009042:Motivation; D009735:Nursing Homes / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015995:Prevalence; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012720:Severity of Illness Index