Depression in dementia with Lewy bodies: A comparison with Alzheimer's disease

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 12; no. 6; p. e0179399
• Main Authors: Chiu, Pai-Yi, Wang, Chein-Wei, Tsai, Chun-Tang, Li, Shin-Hua, Lin, Chih-Li, Lai, Te-Jen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 15.06.2017; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Alzheimer Disease - diagnosis; Alzheimer Disease - physiopathology; Alzheimer Disease - psychology; Alzheimer's disease; Anhedonia; Biology and Life Sciences; Cognitive ability; Comparative analysis; Criteria; Dementia; Dementia disorders; Depression (Mood disorder); Depression - diagnosis; Depression - physiopathology; Depression - psychology; Differential diagnosis; Dopamine; Female; Geriatrics; Health aspects; Hedonic response; Hospitals; Humans; Lewy bodies; Lewy body disease; Lewy Body Disease - diagnosis; Lewy Body Disease - physiopathology; Lewy Body Disease - psychology; Male; Medicine; Medicine and Health Sciences; Mental depression; Mental disorders; Mental health; Metabolism; Middle Aged; Neurodegenerative diseases; Neurology; Parkinson's disease; Psychiatry; Sleep; Social Sciences; Studies; Taiwan; Taiwan
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0179399

Depression is highly associated with dementia, and this study will compare the frequencies, severity, and symptoms of depression between dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Frequency of depression was determined according to the DSM-IV criteria for major depression or the National Institute of Mental Health criteria for depression in AD (NIMH-dAD). Severity of depression were assessed using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, the Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia, and the depression subscale in Neuropsychiatric Inventory. The rates of depressive symptoms were compared between AD and DLB. A total of 312 patients were investigated (AD/DLB = 241/71). The frequency of major depression was significantly higher (p = 0.017) in DLB (19.7%) than in AD (8.7%). The higher frequency of depression in DLB was not reproduced by using the NIMH-dAD criteria (DLB: AD = 43.7%: 33.2%; p = 0.105). The severity of depression was higher in DLB than in AD according to the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (p < 0.001) and the Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia (p < 0.001). Among depressive symptoms, pervasive anhedonia had the highest odds ratio in DLB compared with AD. This is the first study using the NIMH-dAD criteria to investigate the frequency of depression in DLB. Our study shows that co-morbid major depression is more frequent in DLB than in AD. Pervasive anhedonia had the greatest value for the differential diagnosis of depression between DLB and AD.