J Korean Neuropsychiatr Assoc.  2009 Jul;48(4):220-224.

Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in Patients with Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment

• Ahn IS
• Kim DK

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
: To define the neuropsychiatric features of amnestic-type Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI) and compare them with those of mild Alzheimer's disease (AD).
METHODS
: The study participants included 353 aMCI and 500 mild AD patients. The Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) was used to assess the neuropsychiatric symptoms in two groups.
RESULTS
: 65.4% of aMCI and 85.4% of mild AD patients exhibited neuropsychiatric symptoms. The most common symptoms in the aMCI group were depression (33.7%), irritability (29.5%), sleep/ night-time behavior (23.2%), apathy (21.5%), and anxiety (21.2). The most common features in the mild AD group were depression (52.4%), apathy (52%), irritability (41.6%), and anxiety (41%). There were significant differences between the aMCI and mild AD groups in 11 NPI symptoms except sleep/night-time behavior.
CONCLUSION
: A high prevalence of neuropsychiatric symptoms were associated with aMCI, especially mood disturbances and apathy. In contrast, psychotic symptoms were rare. The neuropsychiatric symptoms observed in aMCI were similar to those of mild AD.

Keyword

Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI); Neuropsychiatric symptoms; Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI)

MeSH Terms

Alzheimer Disease
Anxiety
Apathy
Depression
Humans
Mild Cognitive Impairment
Prevalence