• Stefan Van der Mussele, Erik Fransen, Hanne Struyfs, Jill Luyckx, Peter Mariën, Jos Saerens, Nore Somers, Johan Goeman, Peter P De Deyn, and Sebastiaan Engelborghs.
• Reference Center for Biological Markers of Dementia (BIODEM), Laboratory of Neurochemistry and Behavior, Institute Born-Bunge, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium Department of Nursing and Midwifery Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
• J. Alzheimers Dis. 2014 Jan 1; 42 (4): 1239-50.

BackgroundBehavioral and psychological signs and symptoms of dementia (BPSD) belong to the core symptoms of dementia and are also common in mild cognitive impairment (MCI).ObjectiveThis study would like to contribute to the understanding of the prognostic role of BPSD in MCI for the progression to dementia due to Alzheimer's disease (AD).MethodsData were generated through an ongoing prospective longitudinal study on BPSD. Assessment was performed by means of the Middelheim Frontality Score, Behave-AD, Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory, Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia (CSDD), and Geriatric Depression Scale 30-questions (GDS-30). Cox proportional hazard models were used to test the hypothesis that certain BPSD in MCI are predictors of developing AD.ResultsThe study population consisted of 183 MCI patients at baseline. At follow-up, 74 patients were stable and 109 patients progressed to AD. The presence of significant depressive symptoms in MCI as measured by the CSDD (HR: 2.06; 95% CI: 1.23-3.44; p = 0.011) and the GDS-30 (HR: 1.77; 95% CI: 1.10-2.85; p = 0.025) were associated with progression to AD. The severity of depressive symptoms as measured by the GDS-30 was a predictor for progression too (HR: 1.06; 95% CI: 1.01-1.11; p = 0.020). Furthermore, the severity of agitated behavior, especially verbal agitation and the presence of purposeless activity, was also associated with progression, whereas diurnal rhythm disturbances were associated with no progression to AD.ConclusionDepressive symptoms in MCI appear to be predictors for progression to AD.

32 keywords...

hide…