Apathy and functional recovery following first-ever stroke.

Apathy is defined as lack of feeling, emotion, or concern. The objective of this study was to examine the frequency of apathy after a first-ever stroke and to prospectively study the impact of apathy on functional recovery. The patients enrolled in this study had the following characteristics: (i) they had experienced a first ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke; (ii) they ranged from 45 to 90 years of age; (iii) the interval from onset to admission ranged from 21 to 90 days; and (iv) they did not demonstrate either marked dementia or aphasia. The functional status was assessed by the Barthel index and the functional independence measures on admission and after a 3-month rehabilitation period. On the basis of the apathy scale, the patients were grouped into those experiencing apathy and those who did not. Next, the scores of the functional measures in the two groups were compared. A total of 67 patients--38 males and 29 females--were analyzed. Fourteen patients (21%) were diagnosed as being apathetic. The apathetic patients tended to be older and more cognitively impaired than the nonapathetic patients. The severity of neurological deficits, the frequency of depression, and the functional status on admission did not differ substantially in the patients with or without apathy. Although the difference was marginal, apathetic patients showed less improvement in the Barthel index or the subscore of functional independence measures than nonapathetic patients after rehabilitation. Thus, we concluded that apathy is not a rare condition after first-ever stroke and it may impair stroke recovery.