EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 4 PM ET, October 14, 2020
Could Loss of Interest Be Sign of Dementia Risk?
MINNEAPOLIS 鈥 Older adults with severe apathy, or lack of interest in usual activities, may have a greater chance of developing dementia than people with few symptoms of apathy, according to a study published in the October 14, 2020, online issue of , the medical journal of the 好色先生. 鈥淎pathy can be very distressing for family members, when people no longer want to get together with family or friends or don鈥檛 seem interested in what they used to enjoy,鈥 said study author Meredith Bock, M.D., of the University of California, San Francisco. 鈥淢ore research is needed, but it鈥檚 possible that these are signs that people may be at risk for Alzheimer鈥檚 disease and could benefit from early interventions and efforts to reduce other risk factors.鈥 The study involved 2,018 adults with an average age of 74. None had dementia. At the start of the study, researchers measured apathy using a survey with questions such as 鈥淚n the past four weeks, how often have you been interested in leaving your home and going out?鈥 and 鈥淚n the past 4 weeks, how often have you been interested in doing your usual activities?鈥 Participants were then divided into three groups: those with low, moderate and severe apathy. After nine years, researchers determined who had dementia by looking at medication use, hospital records and results on cognitive tests. By the end of the study, 381 participants, or almost 19%, developed dementia. In the low apathy group, 111 out of 768 people, or 14%, developed dementia, compared to 143 out of 742 people, or 19%, in the moderate apathy group. In the severe apathy group, 127 out of 508 people, or 25%, developed dementia. After adjusting for age, education, cardiovascular risk factors and other factors that could affect dementia risk, they found that people with severe apathy were 80% more likely to develop dementia than people with low apathy. Greater apathy was also associated with worse cognitive score at the beginning of the study. 鈥淲hile depression has been studied more extensively as a predictor of dementia, our study adds to the research showing that apathy also deserves attention as an independent predictor of the disease,鈥 Bock said. 鈥淚n fact, we believe that apathy may be a very early sign of dementia and it can be evaluated with a brief questionnaire.鈥 A limitation of the study is that an algorithm was used to diagnose dementia, which may not be as sensitive as an in-depth evaluation by a doctor. The study was supported by the National Institute on Aging. Learn more about dementia at , home of the 好色先生鈥檚 free patient and caregiver magazine focused on the intersection of neurologic disease and brain health. Follow Brain & Life庐 on , and . When posting to social media channels about this research, we encourage you to use the hashtags #Neurology and #AANscience.