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Depressive Symptoms in Alzheimer's Disease and Multi-infarct Dementia

COPSA Institute for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Community Mental Health Center, and the Division of Geriatric Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, UMDNJ - Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Piscataway, New Jersey.

Andrew C. Coyne, PhD

COPSA Institute for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Community Mental Health Center, and the Division of Geriatric Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, UMDNJ - Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Piscataway, New Jersey.

We examined the prevalence of major depression, depressed mood/anhedonia, and subjective and neurovegetative symptoms of depression that were unaccompanied by depressed mood/anhedonia in patients with clinically-diagnosed Alzheimer's disease (AD) and multi-infarct dementia (MID). The specificity of subjective and neurovegetative depressive symptoms for depressed mood in dementia was examined, as was the impact on depression of clinical variables such as family history, patient age, and dementia severity. Subjects were 105 outpatients who met DSM-III-R criteria for AD (n = 67) or MID (n = 38). Depressed mood/anhedonia was frequently noted in both the AD (40.3%) and MID (34.2%) groups. One or more depressive symptoms, not accompanied by depressed mood/anhedonia, were also common in AD and MID (49.3% and 36.8%, respectively). Major depression was relatively uncommon in AD (10.5%) but was noted more frequently in MID (29.0%). Among AD patients, neurovegetative symptoms of depression were not any more common in patients with depressed mood/anhedonia than in those without depressed mood/anhedonia. Subjective symptoms of depression were also not significantly associated with depressed mood/anhedonia. The study highlights the importance of viewing major depression, depressed mood-anhedonia, and other depressive symptoms (subjective and neurovegetative) as separate entities in AD and MID.

Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neurology, Vol. 8, No. 2, 96-99 (1995)
DOI: 10.1177/089198879500800203


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