apathy may be an early warning sign of dementia

losing that joie du vivre can increase your chances of developing the neurological disease, study suggests.

by dave yasvinski

published oct 16, 2020

last updated mar 01, 2023

3 minute read

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3 minute read

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new research suggests a link between apathy and dementia. getty

apathy is on the rise in older populations and a new study suggests the condition may be one of the key indicators of an impending dementia diagnosis. the study, published on wednesday by neurology, found that finding ways to treat a decline in goal-directed behaviour and motivation may slow the neurodegeneration that can occur in human brains over time.

“apathy can be very distressing for a family member, when people no longer want to get together with family or friends or don’t seem interested in what they used to enjoy,” said meredith bock, a clinical fellow at the weill institute for neurosciences at the university of california, san franscisco, according to cnn.

“while 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. in fact, we believe that apathy may be a very early sign of dementia, and it can be evaluated with a brief questionnaire.”

after accounting for age, education and other factors typically associated with the onset of dementia, bock and her team found that people with severe levels of apathy were 80 per cent more likely to develop the disease than those with low levels.

over 500,000 canadians are currently living with dementia with another 25,000 diagnosed every year, according to the alzheimer society. it costs over $12-billion annually to care for those affected. covid-19, which has forced large segments of the population into isolation for long periods of time, will only make the problem worse, bock said.

“in my clinical experience with the elderly, all kinds of mood symptoms are worse during the pandemic.”

but if researchers are able to determine the key risk factors leading to dementia, doctors may be able to intervene while there is still time to make a difference. “we could be giving treatment too late in the course of the disease,” she said.

researchers have struggled to determine which attributes or traits that develop during the early days — or prodromal stage — of dementia are indicative of a later diagnosis. memory loss and neurodegeneration have already begun during this stage but the effects are not yet detectable through testing.

bock’s team arrived at its promising findings by following 2,018 patients from may 1997 to june 2008. the average age of the group was 74 and none of the participants entered the study with dementia. just under 20 per cent of the subjects developed dementia by the end of the study: 25 per cent came from the group exhibiting high apathy, 19 per cent were in the moderate apathy group and just 14 per cent were categorized as low apathy.

but bock cautioned that an inability to engage in activities should not be confused with a lack of interest, particularly during the pandemic. older adults may simply be exercising caution in a difficult time despite a desire to engage more with others.

the findings line up with other research on dementia that has similarly searched for a telltale sign of an impending diagnosis. “there are a number of non-cognitive features that seem to be surfacing earlier in the course of dementia,” said joe verghese, geriatrics division chief at the albert einstein college of medicine. “it looks like apathy is happening fairly early in the course (of the disease).”

f you or someone you care about is living with dementia, connecting with a support network can help to not only learn ways to better manage their health, but also share experiences with others. resources in canada include different regional branches of the alzheimer society.

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