Apathy co-occurs with subjective cognitive decline among community-dwelling older adults

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the relationship between apathy and subjective cognitive decline (SCD) in community-dwelling older adults.

Methods: A total of 211 participants without objective cognitive impairment were included in this study. Their SCD, apathy, sleep quality, depression, and anxiety were assessed by face-to-face interviews. Multivariate logistic regression was constructed to examine the independent relationship between apathy and SCD with adjustment for confounders.

Results: The participants' average SCD-questionnaire and apathy evaluation scale-self scores were 7.13 and 30.65, respectively. Nearly half of the participants were categorized as having SCD. A quarter of participants were identified as apathetic. The apathy score was significantly associated with an increased risk of SCD (odds ratio 1.05, 95% confidence interval 1.01-1.10) after controlling for covariates.

Conclusion: Apathy was independently and significantly associated with SCD in community-dwelling older adults without objective cognitive impairment. Thus early intervention on apathy is important to protect elderly cognitive functioning.

Keywords: Apathy; Dementia; Older adults; Subjective cognitive decline.