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.
Department of Psychology, Open University of the Netherlands, Heerlen, The Netherlands.
Ruslan
R
Leontjevas
Susan
S
van Hooren
Wim
W
Waterink
Ans
A
Mulders
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