BACKGROUND: Whereas apathy is increasingly recognised as a frequent abnormal behaviour in dementia, its overlap with depression remains poorly understood. AIMS: To assess the psychometric characteristics of a structured interview for apathy, and to examine the overlap between apathy and depression in dementia. METHODS: A total of 150 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) underwent a comprehensive psychiatric and cognitive assessment. RESULTS: Twelve per cent of the sample met criteria for both apathy and depression, 7% met criteria for apathy only, and 31% met criteria for depression only. Apathy (but not depression) was significantly associated with more severe cognitive deficits. Apathy and anxiety scores accounted for 65% of the variance of depression scores in dementia, and the diagnosis of apathy had a minor impact on the rating of severity of depression. CONCLUSIONS: The Structured Interview for Apathy demonstrated adequate psychometric characteristics. Using a novel structured interview for apathy in AD we demonstrated that whereas the construct of depression primarily consists of symptom clusters of apathy and anxiety, apathy is a behavioural dimension independent of depression.
BACKGROUND: Whereas apathy is increasingly recognised as a frequent abnormal behaviour in dementia, its overlap with depression remains poorly understood. AIMS: To assess the psychometric characteristics of a structured interview for apathy, and to examine the overlap between apathy and depression in dementia. METHODS: A total of 150 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) underwent a comprehensive psychiatric and cognitive assessment. RESULTS: Twelve per cent of the sample met criteria for both apathy and depression, 7% met criteria for apathy only, and 31% met criteria for depression only. Apathy (but not depression) was significantly associated with more severe cognitive deficits. Apathy and anxiety scores accounted for 65% of the variance of depression scores in dementia, and the diagnosis of apathy had a minor impact on the rating of severity of depression. CONCLUSIONS: The Structured Interview for Apathy demonstrated adequate psychometric characteristics. Using a novel structured interview for apathy in AD we demonstrated that whereas the construct of depression primarily consists of symptom clusters of apathy and anxiety, apathy is a behavioural dimension independent of depression.
Authors: Jason T Olin; Ira R Katz; Barnett S Meyers; Lon S Schneider; Barry D Lebowitz Journal: Am J Geriatr Psychiatry Date: 2002 Mar-Apr Impact factor: 4.105
Authors: Jason T Olin; Lon S Schneider; Ira R Katz; Barnett S Meyers; George S Alexopoulos; John C Breitner; Martha L Bruce; Eric D Caine; Jeffrey L Cummings; Davangere P Devanand; K Ranga Rama Krishnan; Constantine G Lyketsos; Jeffrey M Lyness; Peter V Rabins; Charles F Reynolds; Barry W Rovner; David C Steffens; Pierre N Tariot; Barry D Lebowitz Journal: Am J Geriatr Psychiatry Date: 2002 Mar-Apr Impact factor: 4.105
Authors: Anette Schrag; Paolo Barone; Richard G Brown; Albert F G Leentjens; William M McDonald; Sergio Starkstein; Daniel Weintraub; Werner Poewe; Olivier Rascol; Cristina Sampaio; Glenn T Stebbins; Christopher G Goetz Journal: Mov Disord Date: 2007-06-15 Impact factor: 10.338
Authors: Constantine G Lyketsos; Maria C Carrillo; J Michael Ryan; Ara S Khachaturian; Paula Trzepacz; Joan Amatniek; Jesse Cedarbaum; Robert Brashear; David S Miller Journal: Alzheimers Dement Date: 2011-09 Impact factor: 21.566
Authors: Eric J Lenze; Michael C Munin; Mary Amanda Dew; Robert S Marin; Meryl A Butters; Elizabeth R Skidmore; Ellen M Whyte; Amy Begley; Charles F Reynolds Journal: J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci Date: 2009 Impact factor: 2.198