Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Neurological, Psychiatric, and Affective Aspects of Dementia in Latinxs

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Caring for Latinxs with Dementia in a Globalized World

  • 386 Accesses

Abstract

This chapter reviews common neuropsychiatric symptoms, their expression among Latinx individuals with dementia, and their effect on caregiver burden in this population. As the understanding of dementia syndromes has progressed, increasing attention has been devoted to the neurological, psychiatric, and affective symptoms that commonly accompany neurodegeneration. Most large-scale studies have shown that at least one symptom or syndrome can be identified in almost all individuals diagnosed with dementia. These symptoms impose significant burden on caregivers and on the healthcare system.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 119.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. 1.

    The term Latinx is used throughout the chapter to include the broad range of gender identities present among people of Latin American descent (see Santos, 2017).

References

  • Aalten, P., De Vugt, M. E., Jaspers, N., Jolles, J., & Verhey, F. R. (2005). The course of neuropsychiatric symptoms in dementia. Part I: Findings from the two-year longitudinal Maasbed study. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 20, 523–530.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Alexander, M. P., Stuss, D. T., & Benson, D. F. (1979). Capgras syndrome: A reduplicative phenomenon. Neurology, 29, 334–339.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Allegri, R. F., Sarasola, D., Serrano, C. M., Taragano, F. E., Arizaga, R. L., Butman, J., & Loñ, L. (2006). Neuropsychiatric symptoms as a predictor of caregiver burden in Alzheimer’s disease. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 2, 105–110.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Ayalon, L., Gum, A. M., Feliciano, L., & Arean, P. A. (2006). Effectiveness of nonpharmacologic interventions for the management of neuropsychiatric symptoms in patients with dementia: A systematic review. Archives of Internal Medicine, 166, 2182–2188.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bakke, B. L., Kvale, S., Burns, T., McCarten, J. R., Wilson, L., Maddox, M., & Cleary, J. (1994). Multicomponent intervention for agitated behavior in a person with Alzheimer’s disease. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 27, 175–176.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Ballard, C., Holmes, C., McKeith, I., Neill, D., O’Brien, J., Cairns, N., … Perry, R. (1999). Psychiatric morbidity in dementia with Lewy bodies: A prospective clinical and neuropathological comparative study with Alzheimer’s disease. American Journal of Psychiatry, 156, 1039–1045.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ballard, C., Neill, D., O’Brien, J., McKeith, I. G., Ince, P., & Perry, R. (2000). Anxiety, depression and psychosis in vascular dementia: Prevalence and associations. Journal of Affective Disorders, 59, 97–106.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Barnes, D. E., Yaffe, K., Byers, A. L., McCormick, M., Schaefer, C., & Whitmer, R. A. (2012). Midlife vs late-life depressive symptoms and risk of dementia: Differential effects for Alzheimer disease and vascular dementia. Archives of General Psychiatry, 69, 493–498.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Brodaty, H., Woodward, M., Boundy, K., Ames, D., & Balshaw, R. (2014). Prevalence and predictors of burden in caregivers of people with dementia. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 22, 756–765.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, J. C., Borson, S., & Scanlan, J. M. (2000). Stage-specific prevalence of behavioral symptoms in Alzheimer’s disease in a multi-ethnic community sample. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 8(2), 123–133.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cheng, S. T., Kwok, T., & Lam, L. C. (2012). Neuropsychiatric symptom clusters of Alzheimer’s disease in Hong Kong Chinese: Prevalence and confirmatory factor analysis of the neuropsychiatric inventory. International Psychogeriatrics, 24(9), 1465–1473.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chow, T. W., Binns, M. A., Cummings, J. L., Lam, I., Black, S. E., Miller, B. L., … Van Reekum, R. (2009). Apathy symptom profile and behavioral associations in frontotemporal dementia vs dementia of Alzheimer type. Archives of Neurology, 66, 888–893.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Conde-Sala, J. L., Turro-Garriga, O., Calvo-Perxas, L., Vilalta-Franch, J., Lopez-Pousa, S., & Garre-Olmo, J. (2014). Three-year trajectories of caregiver burden in Alzheimer’s disease. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, 42, 623–633.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cummings, J. L., Mega, M., Gray, K., Rosenberg-Thompson, S., Carusi, D. A., & Gornbein, J. (1994). The neuropsychiatric inventory comprehensive assessment of psychopathology in dementia. Neurology, 44, 2308–2308.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Edwards-Lee, T., Miller, B. L., Benson, D. F., Cummings, J. L., Russell, G. L., Boone, K., & Mena, I. (1997). The temporal variant of frontotemporal dementia. Brain: A Journal of Neurology, 120, 1027–1040.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gottlieb, D. J., DeStefano, A. L., Foley, D. J., Mignot, E., Redline, S., Givelber, R. J., & Young, T. (2004). APOE ε4 is associated with obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea: The sleep heart health study. Neurology, 63, 664–668.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hargrave, R., Stoeklin, M., Haan, M., & Reed, B. (2000). Clinical aspects of dementia in African-American, Hispanic, and white patients. Journal of the National Medical Association, 92, 15.

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Hinton, L., Chambers, D., & Velásquez, A. (2009). Making sense of behavioral disturbances in persons with dementia: Latino family caregiver attributions of neuropsychiatric inventory domains. Alzheimer Disease and Associated Disorders, 23, 401–405.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Hinton, L., Farias, S. T., & Wegelin, J. (2008). Neuropsychiatric symptoms are associated with disability in cognitively impaired Latino elderly with and without dementia: Results from the Sacramento area Latino study on aging. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 23, 102–108.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Hinton, L., Haan, M., Geller, S., & Mungas, D. (2003). Neuropsychiatric symptoms in Latino elders with dementia or cognitive impairment without dementia and factors that modify their association with caregiver depression. The Gerontologist, 43, 669–677.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hodgson, N., Gitlin, L. N., Winter, L., & Czekanski, K. (2011). Undiagnosed illness and neuropsychiatric behaviors in community-residing older adults with dementia. Alzheimer Disease and Associated Disorders, 25, 109.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Hölttä, E. H., Laakkonen, M.-L., Laurila, J. V., Strandberg, T. E., Tilvis, R. S., & Pitkälä, K. H. (2012). Apathy: Prevalence, associated factors, and prognostic value among frail, older inpatients. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 13, 541–545.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jeste, D. V., & Finkel, S. I. (2000). Psychosis of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias: Diagnostic criteria for a distinct syndrome. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 8, 29–34.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kales, H. C., Gitlin, L. N., & Lyketsos, C. G. (2015). Assessment and management of behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia. BMJ, 350, h369.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Kazui, H., Yoshiyama, K., Kanemoto, H., Suzuki, Y., Sato, S., Hashimoto, M., … Tanaka, T. (2016). Differences of behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia in disease severity in four major dementia. PLoS One, 11, e0161092.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Krogstad, J. (2017). U.S. Hispanic population growth has leveled off. http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/08/03/u-s-hispanic-population-growth-has-leveled-off/

  • Landes, A. M., Sperry, S. D., & Strauss, M. E. (2005). Prevalence of apathy, dysphoria, and depression in relation to dementia severity in Alzheimer’s disease. The Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 17, 342–349.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Levy, M. L., Cummings, J. L., Fairbanks, L. A., Masterman, D., Miller, B. L., Craig, A. H., … Litvan, I. (1998). Apathy is not depression. Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 10, 314–319.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lovell, B. B., Ancoli-Israel, S., & Gevirtz, R. (1995). Effect of bright light treatment on agitated behavior in institutionalized elderly subjects. Psychiatry Research, 57, 7–12.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lyketsos, C. G., Lopez, O., Jones, B., Fitzpatrick, A. L., Breitner, J., & DeKosky, S. (2002). Prevalence of neuropsychiatric symptoms in dementia and mild cognitive impairment: Results from the cardiovascular health study. JAMA, 288, 1475–1483.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lyketsos, C. G., Steele, C., Baker, L., Galik, E., Kopunek, S., Steinberg, M., & Warren, A. (1997). Major and minor depression in Alzheimer’s disease: Prevalence and impact. Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 9(4), 556–561.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lyketsos, C. G., Steele, C., Galik, E., Rosenblatt, A., Steinberg, M., Warren, A., & Sheppard, J. M. (1999). Physical aggression in dementia patients and its relationship to depression. American Journal of Psychiatry, 156, 66–71.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lyness, J. M., Noel, T. K., Cox, C., King, D. A., Conwell, Y., & Caine, E. D. (1997). Screening for depression in elderly primary care patients: A comparison of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies—Depression Scale and the geriatric depression scale. Archives of Internal Medicine, 157(4), 449–454.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McCallion, P., Toseland, R. W., & Freeman, K. (1999). An evaluation of a family visit education program. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 47, 203–214.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McCurry, S. M., Gibbons, L. E., Logsdon, R. G., & Teri, L. (2004). Anxiety and nighttime behavioral disturbances: Awakenings in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 30, 12–20.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mizrahi, R., Starkstein, S. E., Jorge, R., & Robinson, R. G. (2006). Phenomenology and clinical correlates of delusions in Alzheimer disease. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 14, 573–581.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mori, E., Shimomura, T., Fujimori, M., Hirono, N., Imamura, T., Hashimoto, M., ... & Hanihara, T. (2000). Visuoperceptual impairment in dementia with Lewy bodies. Archives of Neurology, 57, 489–493. 

    Google Scholar 

  • Mosimann, U. P., Rowan, E. N., Partington, C. E., Collerton, D., Littlewood, E., O’Brien, J. T., … McKeith, I. G. (2006). Characteristics of visual hallucinations in Parkinson disease dementia and dementia with lewy bodies. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 14, 153–160.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Onyike, C. U., Sheppard, J.-M. E., Tschanz, J. T., Norton, M. C., Green, R. C., Steinberg, M., … Lyketsos, C. G. (2007). Epidemiology of apathy in older adults: The Cache County study. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 15, 365–375.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ortiz, F., Fitten, L. J., Cummings, J. L., Hwang, S., & Fonseca, M. (2006). Neuropsychiatric and behavioral symptoms in a community sample of Hispanics with Alzheimer’s disease. American Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias, 21, 263–273.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Osborne, H., Simpson, J., & Stokes, G. (2010). The relationship between pre-morbid personality and challenging behavior in people with dementia: A systematic review. Aging & Mental Health, 14, 503–515.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Palmer, C. V., Adams, S. W., Bourgeois, M., Durrant, J., & Rossi, M. (1999). Reduction in caregiver-identified problem behaviors in patients with Alzheimer disease post-hearing-aid fitting. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 42, 312–328.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Postuma, R. B., Gagnon, J. F., Vendette, M., Fantini, M. L., Massicotte-Marquez, J., & Montplaisir, J. (2009). Quantifying the risk of neurodegenerative disease in idiopathic REM sleep behavior disorder. Neurology, 72, 1296–1300.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Rozzini, L., Vicini Chilovi, B., Conti, M., Delrio, I., Borroni, B., Trabucchi, M., & Padovani, A. (2008). Neuropsychiatric symptoms in amnestic and nonamnestic mild cognitive impairment. Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders, 25, 32–36.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Saczynski, J. S., Beiser, A., Seshadri, S., Auerbach, S., Wolf, P. A., & Au, R. (2010). Depressive symptoms and risk of dementia: The Framingham heart study. Neurology, 75, 35–41.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Santos, C. E. (2017). The history, struggles, and potential of the term Latinx. Latino/a Psychology Today, 4(2), 7–14.

    Google Scholar 

  • Savva, G. M., Zaccai, J., Matthews, F. E., Davidson, J. E., McKeith, I., & Brayne, C. (2009). Prevalence, correlates, and course of behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia in the population. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 194, 212–219.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shim, S. H., Kang, H. S., Kim, J. H., & Kim, D. K. (2016). Factors associated with caregiver burden in dementia: 1-year follow-up study. Psychiatry Investigation, 13, 43–49.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sink, K. M., Covinsky, K. E., Newcomer, R., & Yaffe, K. (2004). Ethnic differences in the prevalence and pattern of dementia-related behaviors. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 52, 1277–1283.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, M., Gerdner, L. A., Hall, G. R., & Buckwalter, K. C. (2004). History, development, and future of the progressively lowered stress threshold: A conceptual model for dementia care. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 52(10), 1755–1760.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Spalletta, G., Baldinetti, F., Buccione, I., Fadda, L., Perri, R., Scalmana, S., … Caltagirone, C. (2004). Cognition and behaviour are independent and heterogeneous dimensions in Alzheimer’s disease. Journal of Neurology, 251, 688–695.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Starkstein, S. E., Ingram, L., Garau, M. L., & Mizrahi, R. (2005). On the overlap between apathy and depression in dementia. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 76(8), 1070–1074.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Starkstein, S. E., Vazquez, S., & Petracca, G. (1994). SPECT study of delusions in Alzheimer disease. Neurology, 44, 2055–2059.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Steinberg, M., Shao, H., Zandi, P., Lyketsos, C. G., Welsh-Bohmer, K. A., Norton, M. C., … Tschanz, J. T. (2008). Point and 5-year period prevalence of neuropsychiatric symptoms in dementia: The Cache County study. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 23, 170–177.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Tagariello, P., Girardi, P., & Amore, M. (2009). Depression and apathy in dementia: Same syndrome or different constructs? A critical review. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 49, 246–249.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Teri, L., Ferretti, L. E., Gibbons, L. E., Logsdon, R. G., McCurry, S. M., Kukull, W. A., … Larson, E. B. (1999). Anxiety in Alzheimer’s disease: Prevalence and comorbidity. The Journals of Gerontology. Series A, Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, 54, M348–M352.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Terum, T. M., Andersen, J. R., Rongve, A., Aarsland, D., Svensboe, E. J., & Testad, I. (2017). The relationship of specific items on the neuropsychiatric inventory to caregiver burden in dementia: A systematic review. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 32, 703–717.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Trapp, S. K., Perrin, P. B., Aggarwal, R., Peralta, S. V., Stolfi, M. E., Morelli, E., … Arango-Lasprilla, J. C. (2015). Personal strengths and health related quality of life in dementia caregivers from Latin America. Behavioural Neurology, 2015, 507196.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • van der Linde, R. M., Dening, T., Matthews, F. E., & Brayne, C. (2014). Grouping of behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 29, 562–568.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • van Reekum, R., Stuss, D. T., & Ostrander, L. (2005). Apathy: Why care? The Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 17, 7–19.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • von Gunten, A., Pocnet, C., & Rossier, J. (2009). The impact of personality characteristics on the clinical expression in neurodegenerative disorders—A review. Brain Research Bulletin, 80, 179–191.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vicini Chilovi, B., Conti, M., Zanetti, M., Mazzù, I., Rozzini, L., & Padovani, A. (2009). Differential impact of apathy and depression in the development of dementia in mild cognitive impairment patients. Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders, 27, 390–398.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Victoroff, J., Zarow, C., Mack, W. J., Hsu, E., & Chui, H. C. (1996). Physical aggression is associated with preservation of substantia nigra pars compacta in Alzheimer disease. Archives of Neurology, 53, 428–434.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Volicer, L., Harper, D. G., Manning, B. C., Goldstein, R., & Satlin, A. (2001). Sundowning and circadian rhythms in Alzheimer’s disease. American Journal of Psychiatry, 158, 704–711.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Yaffe, K., Fox, P., Newcomer, R., Sands, L., Lindquist, K., Dane, K., & Covinsky, K. E. (2002). Patient and caregiver characteristics and nursing home placement in patients with dementia. JAMA, 287, 2090–2097.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zubenko, G. S., Zubenko, W. N., McPherson, S., Spoor, E., Marin, D. B., Farlow, M. R., … Sunderland, T. (2003). A collaborative study of the emergence and clinical features of the major depressive syndrome of Alzheimer’s disease. American Journal of Psychiatry, 160, 857–866.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Massachusetts Medical School; VA Central Western Massachusetts, Worcester, MA, USA

    Lee Ashendorf

  2. Memorial Hospital, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, CO, USA

    Julie E. Horwitz

Authors
  1. Lee Ashendorf
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Julie E. Horwitz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lee Ashendorf .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, Chicago, IL, USA

    Hector Y. Adames

  2. Independent Practice, San Jose, CA, USA

    Yvette N. Tazeau

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Ashendorf, L., Horwitz, J.E. (2020). Neurological, Psychiatric, and Affective Aspects of Dementia in Latinxs. In: Adames, H., Tazeau, Y. (eds) Caring for Latinxs with Dementia in a Globalized World. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-0132-7_7

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-0132-7_7

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-0716-0130-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-0716-0132-7

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation