Apathy Not Depression Helps to Predict Dementia

A study from the University of Cambridge published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry suggests apathy, and not depression, is an important early warning sign of dementia in individuals with cerebral small vessel disease (SVD), reports EurekAlert . Researchers examined two independent cohorts of people with SVD from Britain and the Netherlands. Across both cohorts, individuals with higher baseline apathy, as well as those with increasing apathy over time, had a higher risk of dementia. Neither baseline depression nor change in depression had any noticeable influence on dementia risk. These findings maintained consistency despite variation in the severity of symptoms, suggesting they could be generalized across a broad range of SVD cases. The association between apathy and dementia persisted after controlling for other well-established risk factors for dementia like age, education, and cognition. "Continued monitoring of apathy may be used to assess changes in dementia risk and inform diagnosis," said Cambridge's Jonathan Tay. "Individuals identified as having high apathy, or increasing apathy over time, could be sent for more detailed clinical examinations, or be recommended for treatment."