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. 2003 Mar-Apr;11(2):214-21.

Executive dysfunction and apathy predict functional impairment in Alzheimer disease

Patricia A Boyle  1 , Paul F Malloy, Stephen Salloway, Deborah A Cahn-Weiner, Ronald Cohen, Jeffrey L Cummings
Affiliations
  • PMID: 12611751

Executive dysfunction and apathy predict functional impairment in Alzheimer disease

Patricia A Boyle et al. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2003 Mar-Apr.

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which executive cognitive dysfunction and frontally-mediated behavioral disturbances are associated with functional impairment in patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer disease (AD).

Methods: Patients with AD (N=45) completed the Mattis Dementia Rating Scale, and patients' caregivers completed the Frontal Systems Behavioral Inventory and a modified form of the Lawton and Brody Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) Questionnaire.

Results: Multiple-regression analyses revealed that executive cognitive dysfunction and apathy scores accounted for 44% of the variance in instrumental activities of daily living; executive cognitive dysfunction alone explained 17% of the variance in instrumental ADLs, and apathy scores explained an additional 27%. Executive dysfunction and frontal-behavioral impairment explained 28% of the variance in basic ADLs (BADLs), and, after accounting for executive dysfunction, apathy was the only symptom found to explain additional unique variance in BADLs.

Conclusion: These findings suggest that specific cognitive and behavioral symptoms are associated with functional impairment in patients with AD.

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