title: Quality of life in community-dwelling older persons with apathy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the relationship between apathy and perceived quality of life in groups both with and without depressive symptoms or cognitive impairment.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a cross-sectional study comparing quality of life in older persons with and without apathy in 19 Dutch general practices. Participants were 1,118 older persons aged at least 75 years without current treatment for depression and a Mini-Mental State Examination score of at least 19. Perceived quality of life was determined using Cantril's Ladder for overall quality of life, EuroQol (EQ)-5D thermometer for subjective health quality, and De Jong-Gierveld Loneliness questionnaire for perceived loneliness. Apathy was assessed with the Apathy Scale.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 1,118 older persons, apathy was present in 122 (11%) of them. Overall, apathy was associated with having no work, lower level of education, presence of depressive symptoms, cognitive impairment, and decreased scores on all quality of life measures. Among the 979 (88%) older persons without depressive symptoms and cognitive impairment, apathy was present in 73 (7.5%) of them, showing similar associations as in the total population. In the 77 (7%) persons with cognitive impairment only, apathy was correlated to a lower score on the EQ-5D thermometer. However, in the 51 (5%) depressed persons without cognitive impairment, presence of apathy did not contribute to their decreased quality of life.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Apathy frequently occurred in community-dwelling older persons, also in the absence of depressive symptoms and cognitive impairment. In them, apathy contributed to the perception of a diminished quality of life in various aspects of daily life.
authors.affiliation: Elderly Psychiatry Hospital Parnassia Bavo Group, Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands. Electronic address: isisgroen56@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Isis
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Groeneweg-Koolhoven
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Margot W M
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: de Waal
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Gerda M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: van der Weele
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Jacobijn
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gussekloo
authors.affiliation: Old Age Psychiatry Department of Psychiatry, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Roos C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: van der Mast
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D057565:Apathy; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D008132:Loneliness / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012307:Risk Factors
keywords: Apathy; cognition; elderly; general population; quality of life