Journal of Psychosomatic Research
Volume 72, Issue 5 , Pages 405-407, May 2012

Diagnosis and assessment of apathy in Chinese patients with Alzheimer's disease

  • Hongyi Zhao

      Affiliations

    • Department of Neurology, Changzheng Hospital, Second Military Medical University of PLA, Shanghai, PR China
    • ,
  • Zhongxin Zhao

      Affiliations

    • Department of Neurology, Changzheng Hospital, Second Military Medical University of PLA, Shanghai, PR China
    • ,
  • Liuqing Huang

      Affiliations

    • Department of Neurology, Changzheng Hospital, Second Military Medical University of PLA, Shanghai, PR China
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author. Tel.: +86 2181885452; fax: +86 2181885452.
    • ,
  • Maurice Preter

      Affiliations

    • Department of Neurology, State University of New York, Downstate Medical Center, New York, N.Y., USA
    • Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, N.Y., USA
    • GlobalHealthCare, Shanghai, and Beijing United, Beijing, PR China

Received 12 September 2011; received in revised form 30 December 2011; accepted 3 January 2012. published online 03 February 2012.

Abstract 

Background

Apathy is a major component of the behavioral and psychological symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and other types of dementia. Most researchers have reached a consensus on a new set of diagnostic criteria for apathy (DCA) recently. However, no relevant reports on apathy exist for AD patients in Asian countries yet.

Objectives

To estimate the prevalence of apathy in Chinese AD patients.

Methods

83 AD patients were recruited for a cross-sectional observational study. Following the new diagnostic criteria for apathy (DCA) and DSM-IV criteria for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), each patient was assessed successively by Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Neuropsychiatric Inventory-apathy subscale (NPI-apathy), the Geriatric Depression Screening scale (GDS), and the Caregiver Burden Scale (CBS).

Results

According to the DCA, we found that the frequency of apathy in Chinese AD patients reached 61.4%. The DCA had very good standard validity and internal consistency. The frequency of apathy was not significantly associated with that of depression, whereas there was a significant association between apathy and more severe cognitive deficits. Caregiver burden was significantly associated with severity of apathy.

Conclusions

From the symptoms of a group of Chinese AD patients, we summarized a set of effective methods for the diagnosis and assessment of apathy.

Keywords: Alzheimer's Disease, Apathy, Assessment tool, Diagnostic criteria

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PII: S0022-3999(12)00017-7

doi:10.1016/j.jpsychores.2012.01.003

Journal of Psychosomatic Research
Volume 72, Issue 5 , Pages 405-407, May 2012

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