Negative symptoms in Alzheimer's disease: a confirmatory factor analysis

• Published in: International journal of geriatric psychiatry 2003-08, Vol.18 (8), p.748-753
• Main Authors: de Jonghe, Jos F. M., Goedhart, Arnold W., Ooms, Marcel E., Kat, Martin G., Kalisvaart, Kees J., van Ewijk, Wouter M., Ribbe, Miel W.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Affective Symptoms - psychology; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Alzheimer Disease - psychology; Alzheimer's disease; apathy; Biological and medical sciences; Cognition Disorders - psychology; confirmatory factor analysis; Cross-Sectional Studies; Degenerative and inherited degenerative diseases of the nervous system. Leukodystrophies. Prion diseases; dementia; Factor Analysis, Statistical; Female; Geriatric Assessment; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; negative symptoms; Neurology; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales - standards; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychometrics. Diagnostic aid systems; Psychomotor Agitation - psychology; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Sensitivity and Specificity; Techniques and methods
• ISSN: 0885-6230; 1099-1166
• DOI: 10.1002/gps.917

Objective To examine different conceptual models of negative symptoms in Alzheimer's disease. Design Confirmatory factor analysis of cross‐sectional data. Subjects Alzheimer patients (n=281) admitted to a psychogeriatric observation ward. Materials Nurses' Behavioural observation scale for psychogeriatric inpatients (GIP). Global clinical ratings of severity of dementia and depression based on the Cambridge Examination for Mental Disorders of the Elderly‐Dutch version (CAMDEX‐N). Results A unidimensional model of dementia fitted the data poorly. Multidimensional models produced better results. In two‐ and three‐factor models negative symptoms were separated from cognitive impairment and mood disturbances. The more severe the memory impairment, the more socially withdrawn patients were. In this sense negative symptoms may have been secondary to cognitive decline. However, no association was found between negative symptoms and mood disturbances. Conclusions Negative symptoms are a prominent clinical feature of Alzheimer's disease and they are related to memory impairment but not to mood disturbances. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.