Prevalence of anosognosia in Alzheimer’s disease
Year of Publication 2014
Abstract
Background and Objective: Anosognosia is a disorder that affects the clinical presentation of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), increasing in frequency with the evolution of AD. The objective was to determine the prevalence of anosognosia and analyze the associated factors and predictors.; Patients and Method: Multicenter transversal and observational study of 345 AD patients. Anosognosia was assessed by Anosognosia Questionnaire-Dementia and the evolutionary stage with the Global Deterioration Scale (GDS). Tests used were Mini-Mental State Examination, Disability Assessment for Dementia and Neuropsychiatric Inventory to assess cognition, functional status and neuropsychiatric symptoms, respectively. We adjusted linear regression models to determine the associated variables and binary logistic regression (RLog) to identify predictors of anosognosia.; Results: The overall prevalence of anosognosia was 46.7% (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 41.3 to 52.1). The prevalence in stages was 28.4% (GDS 4), 64.6% (GDS 5) and 91.4% (GDS 6). The RLog identified as predictors older age (odds ratio [OR] 1.04; 95% CI 1.01-1.09), lower functional capacity (OR 0.96; 95% CI 0.93-0.98), lower cognitive level (OR 0.9; 95% CI 0.88-0.99), and greater apathy (OR 1.1; 95% CI 1.03-1.18), disinhibition (OR 1.2; 95% CI 1.09-1.50), irritability (OR 1.1; 95% CI 1.09-1.50) and motor disorders (OR 1.2; 95% CI 1.09-1.50).; Conclusions: Anosognosia increases with further deterioration. In patients with a mild impairment, predictor variables were apathy, disinhibition and motor disorders.; Copyright © 2013 Elsevier España, S.L. All rights reserved.