Highlights
- •To relate Alzheimer's disease (AD) biomarkers with neuropsychiatric symptoms.
- •AD biomarkers were related to the presence of anxiety and apathy, but not with depression, agitation, irritability, and sleep. The associations with anxiety and apathy were mediated by MMSE score.
- •AD pathology has an effect on anxiety and apathy due to disease severity.
ABSTRACT
Objective
To investigate the relationship between Alzheimer's disease biomarkers and neuropsychiatric
symptoms.
Methods
Data from two large cohort studies, the Dutch Parelsnoer Institute – Neurodegenerative
Diseases and the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative was used, including subjects
with subjective cognitive decline (N = 650), mild cognitive impairment (N = 887),
and Alzheimer's disease dementia (N = 626). Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of Aβ42, t-tau, p-tau, and hippocampal volume were associated with neuropsychiatric symptoms
(measured with the Neuropsychiatric Inventory) using multiple logistic regression
analyses. The effect of the Mini-Mental State Examination (as proxy for cognitive
functioning) on these relationships was assessed with mediation analyses.
Results
Alzheimer's disease biomarkers were not associated with depression, agitation, irritability,
and sleep disturbances. Lower levels of CSF Aβ42, higher levels of t- and p-tau were associated with presence of anxiety. Lower levels
of CSF Aβ42 and smaller hippocampal volumes were associated with presence of apathy. All associations
were mediated by cognitive functioning.
Conclusion
The association between Alzheimer's disease pathology and anxiety and apathy is partly
due to impairment in cognitive functioning.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: January 29, 2020
Accepted:
January 21,
2020
Received in revised form:
January 17,
2020
Received:
August 27,
2019
Identification
Copyright
© 2020 American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
