The prevalence and risk factors of apathy among the Canadian long-term care residents with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.

Background: Apathy is a prevalent and debilitating neuropsychiatric symptom among persons living with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, particularly those residing in long-term care facilities (LTCF). Despite its profound effects on the quality of life for both residents and their caregivers, apathy remains underrecognized and poorly understood in the context of dementia care.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence and biopsychosocial characteristics of apathy among newly admitted residents with dementia in Canadian LTCF using an Apathy Index derived from the interRAI Minimum Data Set (MDS) 2.0.

Methods: This cross-sectional study analyzed data from newly admitted residents with dementia from various LTCF (N = 97,789) across seven Canadian provinces between 2015 and 2019. Logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the relationship between apathy and multiple variables including sociodemographic and clinical variables. The biopsychosocial model of health was used to guide analysis.

Results: The prevalence rate of apathy among the Canadian long-term care residents with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias was 13.1%. Apathy was associated with various variables including male sex, pain, use of psychotropics, high Activity of Daily Living Self-Performance Hierarchy Scale scores, depression, aggression, severe cognitive impairment, and insomnia. Preferences for certain activities such as card games, art and craft, reading, music and exercise were inversely related to apathy while gardening was not.

Conclusions: By shedding light on this complex phenomenon within a Canadian context, we recommend that targeted interventions and improved care strategies to enhance the well-being of persons living with dementia should be prioritized in LTCF.