The Relationship Between Anxiety and Alzheimer's Disease.

Content Provider	Europe PMC
Author	Mendez, Mario F.
Copyright Year	2021
Abstract	Although Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is primarily a neurocognitive disorder, it also results in prominent neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS). Much literature has investigated the NPS of apathy and depression in association with AD, but relatively less is known regarding anxiety, the third most common NPS in this disorder. The prevalence of anxiety symptoms in AD is about 40%, and it can be a prelude of AD. Anxiety can be especially present among patients with mild cognitive impairment, mild dementia, or early-onset forms of the disease, and can promote progression or conversion to Alzheimer’s clinical syndrome. A number of studies have established that anxiety is associated with positive amyloid scans, mesial temporal changes with atrophy and hypometabolism in the entorhinal region, and neurofibrillary tangles present on pathological examination of this region. In addition to psychosocial factors, proposed neurobiological mechanisms for increased anxiety in AD include decreased sensorimotor gating, relatively increased activation of amygdalae or the Salience Network, and the presence of comorbid pathology, particularly Lewy bodies. Having management strategies for anxiety in patients with AD is important as anxiety can worsen cognitive deficits. Interventions involve psychological support, behavioral management, and the judicious use of the psychiatric armamentarium of medications.
Related Links	https://europepmc.org/backend/ptpmcrender.fcgi?accid=PMC8075566&blobtype=pdf
Journal	Journal of Alzheimer's Disease Reports [J Alzheimers Dis Rep]
Volume Number	5
PubMed Central reference number	PMC8075566
Issue Number	1
PubMed reference number	33981954
e-ISSN	25424823
DOI	10.3233/adr-210294
Language	English
Publisher	IOS Press
Publisher Date	2021-03-08
Publisher Place	Nieuwe Hemweg 6B, 1013 BG Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Access Restriction	Open
Rights License	This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2021 – The authors. Published by IOS Press
Subject Keyword	Alzheimer’s disease anxiety
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Geriatrics and Gerontology Clinical Psychology Neuroscience Psychiatry and Mental Health