Relationship among Activities of Daily Living, Apathy, and Subjective Well-Being in Elderly People Living Alone in a Rural Town

Abstract

Background: There are limited psychological data on the quality of life and activities of daily living among elderly Japanese who live alone. Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the frequency of apathy and its correlation with activities of daily living and with subjective well-being in elderly people living alone in a depopulated rural area. Methods: We evaluated 96 individuals aged 70 years or older (mean age 77.8 years) who lived alone at home in a rural town. To evaluate activities of daily living, apathy, and subjective well-being, the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology Competence Index, the Apathy Scale, and the Philadelphia Geriatric Center Morale Scale (subjective well-being scale) were used. Results: Of the 96 subjects, 94 (97.9%) showed apathy. The total score of the index of activities of daily living was primarily related to age and the apathy score and less to the PGC Morale Scale score. Conclusion: These findings demonstrate that apathy in subjects who live alone appears to exert a marked effect on their ability to perform routine activities of daily living.

Depression is the predominant factor contributing to morale as measured by the Philadelphia Geriatric Morale Scale in elderly Chinese aged 70 years and over

“…Interestingly, the correlation with ADL score, a purely physical parameter, was low although statistically significant. This observation is compatible with the findings of two Japanese surveys (Nagamoto et al, 1997b;Yamashita et al, 1999).…”

“…One of the tools, for quality of life measurement is the Philadelphia Geriatric Morale Scale, being easily administered in day to day settings, and has been included as part of standardized assessment scales for elderly people in the United Kingdom by the Royal College of Physicians of London and the British Geriatric Society (Research Unit of the Royal College of Physicians and the British Geriatric Society). It has been used among the Japanese to assess quality of life in psychiatric hospitals and long term care facilities (Nagamoto et al, 1997a,b) and among those living alone (Yamashita et al, 1999). It has been shown to vary with sleep characteristics (Shirota et al, 1999), to correlate with family care (Takemasa, 1998), while associations with functional disability were conflicting (Nagamoto et al, 1997b;Takemasa, 1998;Yasunage …”

Complaints of informal caregivers providing home care for dementia patients: The Pixel study

“…Apathy is probably one of the most frequent symptoms among the psychological behavioural disorders in AD, particularly in its severe forms. Depression and apathy combine with cognitive decline, leading to the loss of autonomy found in AD (Reichman et al, 1996;Yamashita et al, 1999;Starkstein et al, 2001). Loss of motivation and withdrawal are responsible for the most frequent complaint of families looking after dementia patients, at all stages of the disease including at the beginning, when the patient still has the potential to be involved with his/her surroundings.…”

“…Apathy is probably one of the most frequent symptoms among the psychological behavioural disorders in AD, particularly in its severe forms (Mega et al, 1996). Patients' depression and apathy combine with cognitive decline, leading to the loss of autonomy observed in AD, and this further adds to the caregiver's work load (Yamashita et al, 1999). Thus, the routine acts of the elderly at home are more severely impaired when they are apathetic (Yamashita et al, 1999).…”

“…Patients' depression and apathy combine with cognitive decline, leading to the loss of autonomy observed in AD, and this further adds to the caregiver's work load (Yamashita et al, 1999). Thus, the routine acts of the elderly at home are more severely impaired when they are apathetic (Yamashita et al, 1999). In this study, we propose to evaluate the complaints, problems and requirements of caregivers of dementia patients.…”