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Apathy is not depression
Levy ML, Cummings JL, Fairbanks LA, Masterman D, Miller BL, Craig AH, Paulsen JS, Litvan I.. The Journal of neuropsychiatry and clinical neurosciences, 1998-01-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
If depression is associated with apathy, then they should be expressed together in different dementia syndromes and should co-occur at varying levels of disease severity. The authors performed a cross-sectional comparison of neuropsychiatric symptoms in 30 Alzheimer's disease, 28 frontotemporal dementia, 40 Parkinson's disease, 34 Huntington's disease, and 22 progressive supranuclear palsy patients, using a standardized rating scale (the Neuropsychiatric Inventory). Apathy did not correlate with depression in the combined sample; apathy (r = -0.40, P < 0.0001), but not depression, correlated with lower cognitive function as measured by the Mini-Mental State Examination. The relationship of apathy to depression also varied across diagnostic groups. Apathy is a specific neuropsychiatric syndrome that is distinct from depression. Distinguishing these two syndromes has therapeutic implications.
Key findings
- If depression is associated with apathy, then they should be expressed together in different dementia syndromes and should co-occur at varying levels of disease severity.
Why it matters
In this cross-sectional comparison of patients with several dementia syndromes, apathy did not correlate with depression and was linked to lower cognitive function instead. The authors conclude apathy is a distinct syndrome from depression, which matters for choosing the right treatment, but no treatment was tested.
Study details
- Study designcross-sectional
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 53/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a snapshot of people at one point in time. Scored zero for sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (The Journal of neuropsychiatry and clinical neurosciences) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Journal of Neuropsychiatry: journal h-index 155 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 4 / 12 | A snapshot of people at one point in time |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 1998 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 683 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 22.8 citations a year over 30 year(s) since 1998 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 8.5× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 5 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 37 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Irene Litvan: h-index 110 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University of California, Los Angeles: institution h-index 1,923 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 5 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 9706539) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 53 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
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Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record names 8 authors; APA and Vancouver show the first six, BibTeX and the downloads carry all of them. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Levy, M. L., Cummings, J. L., Fairbanks, L. A., Masterman, D., Miller, B. L., Craig, A. H., et al. (1998). Apathy is not depression. The Journal of neuropsychiatry and clinical neurosciences. https://doi.org/10.1176/jnp.10.3.314
Vancouver
Levy ML, Cummings JL, Fairbanks LA, Masterman D, Miller BL, Craig AH, et al. Apathy is not depression. The Journal of neuropsychiatry and clinical neurosciences. 1998. doi:10.1176/jnp.10.3.314. PMID: 9706539.
BibTeX
@article{levy1998-9706539,
author = {Levy, M. L. and Cummings, J. L. and Fairbanks, L. A. and Masterman, D. and Miller, B. L. and Craig, A. H. and Paulsen, J. S. and Litvan, I.},
title = {{Apathy is not depression}},
journal = {The Journal of neuropsychiatry and clinical neurosciences},
year = {1998},
doi = {10.1176/jnp.10.3.314},
pmid = {9706539},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1176/jnp.10.3.314}
}
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