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Background

Apathy and depression are ones of the most frequently reported neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) associated with progression from mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to dementia. The study aimed to confirm if the two NPS increase the rate of progression to dementia.

Methods

MCI participants were recruited from outpatient clinics of two hospitals in Taiwan from 2007–2011. The NPS were measured by the neuropsychiatric inventory (NPI). To test the concept of mild behavioral impairment, we defined persistence of apathy/depression as the symptom being detected at both baseline and 6-month follow up. Survival analysis was conducted with univariate or multivariate models considering age, sex, MMSE score and education as confounders.

Results

140 (84.3%) of 166 participants were analyzed. The mean age was 71.8 years at baseline, and the mean duration of follow up was more than 5 years. Apathy …