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Specificity of Symptoms of Depression in Alzheimer Disease

A Longitudinal Analysis

Received May 25, 2004; revised July 14, August 2, 2004; accepted July 31, 2004. From the School of Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, University of Western Australia, and Fremantle Hospital, Western Australia, Australia (SES), the PET Centre, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Clarke Division,Toronto, Canada (RM), and the Dept. de Neurologia, Hospital Fernandez, Buenos Aires, Argentina (LG). Send correspondence and reprint requests to A/Prof. Sergio E. Starkstein, Education Building T-7, Fremantle Hospital, Fremantle, 6959 WA, Australia. e-mail: ses{at}cyllene.uwa.edu.au
© 2005 American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry

Objective: Authors examined the temporal stability of symptoms of major and minor depression and apathy in dementia. Methods: A consecutive sample of 65 patients with Alzheimer disease (AD) and depression at baseline evaluation received a follow-up psychiatric assessment that included the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV and the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression an average of 17 months later. Results: Half of the sample had no depression at follow-up, and showed a significant improvement in sadness, guilt, suicidal ideation, disruption in sleep, loss of interest, loss of energy, thoughts of death, social withdrawal, psychomotor changes, changes in appetite/weight, and symptoms of anxiety. No significant changes were found on scores of irritability or apathy. Conclusions: The study demonstrates the specificity of depressive symptoms in AD and suggests that apathy and depression are different behavioral domains.

Key Words: Depression • Outcome Studies

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