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CLINICAL PREDICTORS OF SOMATIC AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SYMPTOMS OF DEPRESSION IN ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE
Author(s) -
TROISI A.,
PASINI A.,
GORI G.,
SORBI T.,
BARONI A.,
CIANI N.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
international journal of geriatric psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.28
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1099-1166
pISSN - 0885-6230
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1099-1166(199601)11:1<23::aid-gps264>3.0.co;2-4
Subject(s) - depression (economics) , dementia , disease , alzheimer's disease , rating scale , psychiatry , psychology , depressive symptoms , somatic cell , clinical psychology , degenerative disease , cognition , medicine , developmental psychology , biochemistry , chemistry , gene , economics , macroeconomics
Abstract The Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression was employed to assess the severity of somatic and psychological symptoms of depression in 42 outpatients with dementia of the Alzheimer type. The severity of somatic symptoms increased in the more severe stages of dementia whereas the severity of psychological symptoms did not vary. Psychological symptoms were more severe in female patients and in patients with a better awareness of cognitive decline. In contrast, the degree of cognitive dysfunction was the only significant predictor of the severity of somatic symptoms. These results suggest that, in Alzheimer's disease, somatic symptoms are secondary to dementia rather than manifestations of a coexistent depressive disorder and point to the limited value of the Hamilton scale for detecting depression in demented patients.