| Poster | Poster Session 05 Program Schedule
02/15/2024
02:30 pm - 03:45 pm
Room: Shubert Complex (Posters 1-60)
Poster Session 05: Neuropsychiatry | Addiction/Dependence | Stress/Coping | Emotional/Social Processes
Final Abstract #14
Impact of Apathy and Depression on Functional Impairment
Shenielle Bisson, Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, Irvine, United States
Bobbye Sanders, Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, Irvine, United States
Michelle Morgan, Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, Irvine, United States
Lauren Bennett, Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, Irvine, United States
Category: Executive Functions/Frontal Lobes
Keyword 1: depression
Keyword 2: apathy
Objective:
Prior research has evidenced a positive relationship between apathy and functional impairment. Additionally, there is a bidirectional relationship between functional impairment and depression. As such, this study was designed to explore the relationship between apathy and depression as endorsed by a patient’s caregiver on the Neuropsychiatric Questionnaire (NPI-Q) and the overall T-score on the Texas Functional Living Scale (TFLS). It was hypothesized that patients experiencing the neuropsychiatric symptoms of apathy or depression would perform more poorly on the TFLS.
Participants and Methods:
This study consisted of 251 individuals, ages 38 to 98 (M = 76.98, SD = 8.87), who underwent a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment, including the TFLS. Patients must also have had a caregiver who completed the NPI-Q, at the time of their assessment, to be included. The relationship between caregiver reported apathy, depression, and functional impairment, was analyzed using a two-way ANOVA and independent samples t-tests.
Results:
Within the sample of 251 individuals included in this study, 121 (48.2%) were female. One hundred and thirty-eight (55.2%) participants have a minimum of 16 years of education, with an average of 15.17 (SD = 2.58) years of education. Additionally, of the 251 individuals included within this sample, 135 caregivers reported the presence of depression and 141 reported the presence of apathy. A simple main effects analysis evidenced no statistically significant effect of caregiver – reported apathy on functional impairment F (1, 247) = .363, p = .548. Additionally, the analysis failed to evidence a statistically significant impact of caregiver – reported depression on functional independence, F (1, 247) = .056, p = .813. In contrast, a significant interaction effect between caregiver-reported apathy and depression, F (1, 247) = 4.549, p = .034 was evidenced. Furthermore, the independent samples t-test revealed no significant difference between the TFLS scores of individuals within the caregiver – reported apathy condition (M = 35, SD = 10.26) and those in the caregiver – reported non-apathetic (M = 35.56, SD = 9.14) condition. Similarly, there is no statistical difference between the TFLS scores of individuals in the caregiver – reported depression condition (M = 35.45, SD = 9.83) and those in the caregiver – reported non - depression (M = 35.01, SD = 9.74) condition.
Conclusions:
Presence of caregiver – reported apathy or caregiver – reported depression was not significantly associated with functional impairment. Notably, the current findings were limited to one database and did not account for the severity of the symptoms experienced. In addition, there is a significant interaction between apathy and depression suggesting that the relationship between apathy and depression may not be additive and should be further investigated.
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