Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Email this article to a Colleague Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to My Articles & Searches Download to citation manager Citing Articles via Google Scholar Articles by Chatterjee, A. Articles by Marder, K. S. Search for Related Content PubMed Citation Articles by Chatterjee, A. Articles by Marder, K. S. Huntington's Disease

A Comparison of Self-Report and Caregiver Assessment of Depression, Apathy, and Irritability in Huntington’s Disease

Received November 19, 2003; revised April 28, 2004; accepted May 3, 2004. From the Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, New York; the Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York; and the Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland. Address correspondence to Dr. Chatterjee, 622 West 168^th St., PH-19, NY, NY 10032; aac2009{at}columbia.edu (E-mail).

The natural history of psychiatric syndromes associated with Huntington’s disease (HD) remains unclear, and longitudinal studies of symptoms such as depression, apathy, and irritability are required to better understand the progression and role of these syndromes and their effect on disability. Self-administered scales such as the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) may be useful to document changes in symptoms over time, but the validity of self-report may be questionable with the inevitable progression of cognitive deficits. An alternative to the patient’s self-report would be assessments by the caregiver. The authors assessed interrater agreement between patient self-assessment and caregiver assessment of patients status for the presence of depressed mood using the BDI and apathy and irritability using an apathy and irritability scale. Agreement between these scales across strata of cognitive status was also examined. Interrater agreement varied from moderate to good for the BDI, depending on patient cognitive status. Agreement for the apathy scores was low for patients with poor cognition and fair in patients with better cognition. Irritability scale agreement was fair at best and was the worst in patients with the most intact cognition. Caregiver assessment of patients’ moods and apathy may be an acceptable alternative to patient self-report as patients’ cognitive status worsens.

Key Words: Apathy • Depression • Irritability • Beck depression inventory • Huntington disease

Get information about faster international access.

Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2005 American Neuropsychiatric Association. All rights reserved.

Home | Search | Current Issue | Past Issues | Subscribe | All APPI Journals | Help | Contact Us