Poster Presentation Australian and New Zealand Society for Geriatric Medicine Annual Scientific Meeting 2025

The prevalence of apathy in Lewy body dementia: a systematic review and meta-analysis (119001)

Jenny Jia Yu 1 2 , Kai Sin Chin 1 2 , Paula M Loveland 1 2 , Leonid Churilov 1 , Samantha M Loi 3 4 , Nawaf Yassi 2 3 5 , Rosie Watson 1 2
  1. Department of Medicine, The Royal Melbourne Hospital, Parkville, VIC, Australia
  2. Walter & Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, VIC, Australia
  3. Neuropsychiatry Centre, The Royal Melbourne Hospital, Parkville, VIC, Australia
  4. Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
  5. Department of Neurology, Melbourne Brain Centre at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, Parkville, VIC, Australia

Aims

Apathy is an important feature of Lewy body dementia (LBD). Existing data on the prevalence of apathy in LBD is heterogenous. Therefore, we aimed to estimate the prevalence of apathy in LBD through systematic review and meta-analysis.

 

Methods

Five databases were searched for relevant articles using key terms “Lewy body”, “Parkinson’s disease dementia” (PDD), “mild cognitive impairment” (MCI), “neuropsychiatric symptoms”, “apathy”, and their synonyms. Articles reporting prevalence of apathy in MCI and dementia stages of dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), PDD and LBD were included. Random effect meta-analysis was performed to determine prevalence of apathy. 

 

Results

The search identified 7477 articles, 46 met the inclusion criteria. The pooled prevalence of apathy in LBD (DLB and PDD, n = 3940) was 58% (95% confidence interval (CI) 51 – 64%, I2 = 95.3%), in DLB (n = 2169) 58% (95% CI 52 – 64%, I2 = 86.5%) and in PDD (n = 1557) 56% (95% CI 43 – 70%, I2 = 97.6%). The pooled prevalence of apathy in LB-MCI (n = 316) was 49% (95% CI 34 – 65%, I2 = 88.4%) and PD-MCI (n = 337) was 40% (95% CI 29 – 51%, I2 = 51.1%).

 

Conclusion

Apathy is an important and prevalent feature of LBD throughout the disease continuum. High prevalence of apathy in prodromal disease supports its utility in early DLB diagnosis. Future research should prospectively validate apathy as a component of diagnostic criteria in prodromal disease and focus on earlier identification and management of apathy in LBD.