Prevalence of apathy, anxiety, and depression according to gender and stage of disease in a sample of Alzheimer’s patients

Abstract

The objective of this work is to determine the prevalence of psychological and behavioral symptoms of dementia (SPCD), specifically apathy, depression and anxiety, depending on the gender and stage of the disease. The sample consisted of 33 Alzheimer’s patients, classified as mild (48.5%) and moderate (54.5%), being 15 women and 18 men. The Apadem NH scale was administered for apathy and the Goldberg Anxiety and Depression scale. The results reflect that, regarding gender, no significant differences were found for apathy, depression and anxiety. Regarding the phase of the disease, significant differences were found in apathy (F = 19.15, p = 0.000), depression (F = 5.44, p = 0.027) and anxiety (F = 4.35, p = 0.046). ). The interaction between gender and phase was not significant. We can conclude that no differences were found between men and women regarding the prevalence of apathy, depression and anxiety. A higher prevalence of apathy, depression and anxiety was found in the moderate phase of the disease. Finally, in the combination between gender associated with the mild and moderate phases, no differences were found.