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Neuropsychiatric symptoms and brain morphology in patients with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease with dementia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 August 2021

Nikias Siafarikas Open the ORCID record for Nikias Siafarikas [Opens in a new window] ,
Dag Alnæs ,
Jennifer Monereo-Sanchez ,
Martina J. Lund ,
Geir Selbaek ,
Maria Stylianou-Korsnes ,
Karin Persson ,
Maria Lage Barca ,
Ina Selseth Almdahl  and
Tormod Fladby
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Nikias Siafarikas*
Affiliation:
Department of Geriatric Psychiatry, Akershus University Hospital, Lørenskog, Norway
Dag Alnæs
Affiliation:
Norwegian Centre for Mental Disorders Research (NORMENT), Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway Bjørknes College, Oslo, Norway
Jennifer Monereo-Sanchez
Affiliation:
Norwegian Centre for Mental Disorders Research (NORMENT), Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, The Netherlands
Martina J. Lund
Affiliation:
Norwegian Centre for Mental Disorders Research (NORMENT), Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway Institute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
Geir Selbaek
Affiliation:
Norwegian National Advisory Unit on Aging and Health, Vestfold Hospital Trust, Tønsberg, Norway Institute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway Department of Geriatric Medicine, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
Maria Stylianou-Korsnes
Affiliation:
Department of Old Age Psychiatry, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
Karin Persson
Affiliation:
Norwegian National Advisory Unit on Aging and Health, Vestfold Hospital Trust, Tønsberg, Norway Department of Geriatric Medicine, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
Maria Lage Barca
Affiliation:
Norwegian National Advisory Unit on Aging and Health, Vestfold Hospital Trust, Tønsberg, Norway Department of Geriatric Medicine, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
Ina Selseth Almdahl
Affiliation:
Institute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway Department of Old Age Psychiatry, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
Tormod Fladby
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, Akershus University Hospital, Lørenskog, Norway Institute of Clinical Medicine, Campus Ahus, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
Dag Aarsland
Affiliation:
Department of Old Age Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London SE5 8AF, UK Centre of Age-Related Medicine, University Hospital Stavanger, Stavanger, Norway
Ole A. Andreassen
Affiliation:
Norwegian Centre for Mental Disorders Research (NORMENT), Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway Institute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway K.G. Jebsen Center for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
Lars T. Westlye
Affiliation:
Norwegian Centre for Mental Disorders Research (NORMENT), Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway K.G. Jebsen Center for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Nikias Siafarikas, Department for Old Age Psychiatry, Akershus University Hospital, Sykehusveien 25, 1474 Lørenskog, Norway. Telephone. 004796884452, Email: nikias.siafarikas@googlemail.com.
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Summary

We present associations between neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) and brain morphology in a large sample of patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer’s disease with dementia (AD dementia).

Several studies assessed NPS factor structure in MCI and AD dementia, but we know of no study that tested for associations between NPS factors and brain morphology. The use of factor scores increases parsimony and power. For transparency, we performed an additional analysis with selected Neuropsychiatric Inventory – Questionnaire (NPI-Q) items. Including regional cortical thickness, cortical and subcortical volumes, we examined associations between NPS and brain morphology across the whole brain in an unbiased fashion. We reported both statistical significance and effect sizes, using linear models adjusted for multiple comparisons by false discovery rate (FDR). Moreover, we included an interaction term for diagnosis and could thereby compare associations of NPS and brain morphology between MCI and AD dementia.

We found an association between the factor elation and thicker right anterior cingulate cortex across MCI and AD dementia. Associations between the factors depression to thickness of the banks of the left superior temporal sulcus and psychosis to the left post-central volume depended on diagnosis: in MCI these associations were positive, in AD dementia negative.

Our findings indicate that NPS in MCI and AD dementia are not exclusively associated with atrophy and support previous findings of associations between NPS and mainly frontotemporal brain structures.

Keywords

neuroimagingmild cognitive impairmentAlzheimer’s diseasedementianeuropsychiatric symptomsprincipal component analysis
Type
Original Research Article
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 33 , Special Issue 11: Issue Theme: Advances in Assessment and Diagnosis of Dementia , November 2021 , pp. 1217 - 1228
Copyright
© International Psychogeriatric Association 2021

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