Real-world implications of apathy among older adults: Independent associations with activities of daily living and quality of life

ABSTRACT

Objectives: Apathy is common in older adults and has been linked to adverse health outcomes. The current study examined whether apathy contributes to problems managing activities of daily living (ADLs) and lower quality of life (QoL) in older adults.

Method: Participants included 83 community-dwelling older adults. Apathy was assessed using a composite of the self and family-rating scales from the Frontal Systems Behavioral Scale (FrSBe). A knowledgeable informant completed the Activities of Daily Living Questionnaire (ADLQ), and participants completed the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQol) scale.

Results: Nominal logistic regressions controlling for age, anxiety and depression symptoms, chronic medical conditions, and global cognition revealed that higher levels of apathy were significantly associated with a wide range of mild ADL problems. In parallel, a multiple linear regression indicated that greater apathy was significantly associated with lower QoL independent of ADL problems, anxious and depressive symptomology, chronic medical conditions, global cognition and age.

Discussion: Findings suggest that apathy confers an increased risk of problems in the independent management of daily activities and poorer well-being among community-dwelling older adults. Neurobehavioral and pharmacological interventions to improve apathy may have beneficial effects on the daily lives of older adults.

KEYWORDS:

• Apathy
• daily functioning
• neuropsychology
• successful aging
• well-being

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the study volunteers for their participation.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.