Reliability, validity, and clinical correlates of apathy in Parkinson's disease

J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci. 1992 Spring;4(2):134-9. doi: 10.1176/jnp.4.2.134.

Abstract

The authors examined a consecutive series of 50 patients for the presence of apathy, depression, anxiety, and neuropsychological deficits using a neuropsychological battery that included a recently designed apathy scale. This scale was found to be reliable and valid in the diagnosis of apathy in patients with PD. Of patients in the study, 12% showed apathy as their primary psychiatric problem, and 30% were both apathetic and depressed. Patients with apathy (with or without depression), showed significantly more deficits in both tasks of verbal memory and time-dependent tasks. Results suggest that apathy is a frequent finding in PD, is significantly associated with specific cognitive impairments, and may have a different mechanism than depression.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Analysis of Variance
  • Depressive Disorder / diagnosis
  • Depressive Disorder / psychology*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Motivation*
  • Neurocognitive Disorders / diagnosis
  • Neurocognitive Disorders / psychology*
  • Neuropsychological Tests / statistics & numerical data*
  • Parkinson Disease / diagnosis
  • Parkinson Disease / psychology*
  • Psychometrics