Loading...
Part and parcel of the clinical picture in the dementias are disturbances of cognition, including memory, learning, planning, organizing, sequencing, and abstracting, as well as aphasias, apraxias, and agnosias. Noncognitive disturbances associated with dementias, however, have been less well described. Investigators in Spain examined these symptoms in a community sample of 4803 individuals aged 55 and older.
The researchers diagnosed 223 subjects with dementia and identified 3947 comparison subjects who did not have anxiety, depression, or dementia. Dementia was mild-to-moderate in 56% of dementia cases and severe in 44%. Among those with dementia, 55.6% showed an “apathy-related symptom cluster” of anergia, restriction of activities, and a…