Apathy Is Associated with Slower Gait and Subjective Cognitive Complaints in a South Indian Community-Dwelling Cohort
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Apathy
2.2. GDS
2.3. MCR
2.4. Subjective Cognitive Change (SCC)
2.5. Covariates
2.6. Statistical Methods
3. Results
3.1. Baseline Characteristics
3.2. Regression Models
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
Abbreviations
| MCR | Motoric–Cognitive Risk Syndrome |
| SCCs | Subjective Cognitive Complaints |
| AES | Apathy Evaluation Scale |
| CCI | Self-Perceived Cognitive Decline |
| GDS | Geriatric Depression Scale |
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| Variables | No MCR | MCR | p-Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| N = 600 | N = 73 | ||
| Gender, female, % (N) | 39.9% (258) | 42.9% (33) | 0.614 |
| Age, mean (SD), years | 68.4 (5.7) | 69.5 (5.6) | 0.123 |
| Level of education, mean (SD), years | 9.3 (3.4) | 7.4 (3.4) | ≤0.001 * |
| Currently working (%) | 20.2% | 10.4% | 0.038 * |
| Married (%) | 86.6% | 89.6% | 0.453 |
| ACE score, mean (SD) | 82.4 (9.6) | 77.0 (12.0) | 0.001 * |
| Apathy score, mean (SD) | 31.4 (9.9) | 34.6 (11.1) | 0.010 * |
| GDS score, mean (SD) | 6.7 (5.6) | 9.2 (6.2) | ≤0.001 * |
| GDS dysphoria sub-score, mean (SD) | 2.4 (1.4) | 2.4 (1.5) | 0.877 |
| General health, mean (SD) | 2.4 (0.7) | 2.1 (0.6) | ≤0.001 * |
| Physically active days per week, mean (SD) | 1.1 (2.5) | 1.2 (2.6) | 0.875 |
| Gait velocity, mean (SD), cm/s | 82.5 (18.9) | 43.9 (8.4) | ≤0.001 * |
| CCI sum, mean (SD) | 33.8 (12.2) | 41.4 (16.4) | ≤0.001 * |
| Variables | Total Sample | Low Apathy (AES ≤ 25) | Medium Apathy (AES 26–35) | High Apathy (AES ≥ 36) | p-Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N = 673 | N = 222 | N = 225 | N = 226 | ||
| Gender, female, % (N) | 38.6% (260) | 42.8% (95) | 38.7% (87) | 34.5% (78) | 0.198 |
| Age, mean (SD), years | 68.5 (5.6) | 67.4 (5.5) | 68.3 (5.3) | 69.6 (5.7) | ≤0.001 * |
| Level of education, mean (SD), years | 9.2 (3.4) | 9.2 (3.3) | 9.2 (3.3) | 9.1 (3.7) | 0.965 |
| Currently working (%) | 19.8% | 23.9% | 16.9% | 18.6% | 0.154 |
| Married (%) | 88.9% | 86.5% | 89.3% | 90.1% | 0.421 |
| ACE score, mean (SD) | 81.9 (9.9) | 84.5 (8.6) | 81.7 (9.2) | 79.4 (11.4) | ≤0.001 * |
| Apathy Evaluation Score, mean (SD) | 31.6 (10.0) | 21.7 (2.1) | 29.4 (2.6) | 43.5 (6.5) | ≤0.001 * |
| GDS score, mean (SD) | 6.9 (5.7) | 5.4 (5.2) | 5.9 (5.1) | 9.3 (5.9) | ≤0.001 * |
| GDS dysphoria sub-score, mean (SD) | 2.3 (1.4) | 2.4 (1.3) | 2.2 (1.3) | 2.4 (1.5) | 0.499 |
| General health, mean (SD) | 2.4 (0.7) | 2.5 (0.7) | 2.4 (0.7) | 2.3 (0.7) | 0.030 * |
| Physically active days per week, mean (SD) | 1.2 (2.5) | 1.5 (2.8) | 1.1 (2.4) | 0.9 (2.2) | 0.030 * |
| Gait velocity, mean (SD), cm/s | 78.8 (22.0) | 82.5 (23.3) | 79.2 (21.2) | 74.7 (20.9) | ≤0.001 * |
| CCI sum, mean (SD) | 34.6 (12.9) | 29.4 (8.0) | 32.5 (11.9) | 41.9 (14.4) | ≤0.001 * |
| MCR (%) | 10.8% | 8.1% | 10.2% | 14.2% | 0.112 |
| Independent Variable | Gait Velocity | |
|---|---|---|
| Model | Beta Coefficient (95% CI LB, UB) | p-Value |
| Model 1 | −3.465 (−5.601, −1.330) | 0.002 * |
| Model 2 | −3.041 (−5.186, −0.897) | 0.006 * |
| Model 3 | −3.002 (−5.148, −0.856) | 0.006 * |
| Model 4 | −1.866 (−3.988, +0.255) | 0.085 |
| Model 5 | −1.665 (−3.729, +0.399) | 0.114 |
| Model 6 | −1.569 (−3.637, +0.500) | 0.137 |
| Independent Variable | CCI | |
|---|---|---|
| Model | Beta Coefficient (95% CI LB, UB) | p-Value |
| Model 1 | +5.432 (+4.307, +6.557) | ≤0.001 * |
| Model 2 | +5.282 (+4.148, +6.416) | ≤0.001 * |
| Model 3 | +5.246 (+4.113, +6.379) | ≤0.001 * |
| Model 4 | +4.791 (+3.657, +5.924) | ≤0.001 * |
| Model 5 | +4.706 (+3.591, +5.822) | ≤0.001 * |
| Model 6 | +4.666 (+3.548, +5.785) | ≤0.001 * |
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Engel, M.G.; Ayers, E.I.; Adhikari, D.; Stimmel, M.B.; Weiss, E.F.; Kumar, V.G.P.; Sigamani, A.; Verghese, J.; Ceïde, M.E. Apathy Is Associated with Slower Gait and Subjective Cognitive Complaints in a South Indian Community-Dwelling Cohort. Brain Sci. 2025, 15, 1204. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci15111204
Engel MG, Ayers EI, Adhikari D, Stimmel MB, Weiss EF, Kumar VGP, Sigamani A, Verghese J, Ceïde ME. Apathy Is Associated with Slower Gait and Subjective Cognitive Complaints in a South Indian Community-Dwelling Cohort. Brain Sciences. 2025; 15(11):1204. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci15111204
Chicago/Turabian StyleEngel, Matthew G., Emmeline I. Ayers, Dristi Adhikari, Marnina B. Stimmel, Erica F. Weiss, V.G. Pradeep Kumar, Alben Sigamani, Joe Verghese, and Mirnova E. Ceïde. 2025. "Apathy Is Associated with Slower Gait and Subjective Cognitive Complaints in a South Indian Community-Dwelling Cohort" Brain Sciences 15, no. 11: 1204. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci15111204
APA StyleEngel, M. G., Ayers, E. I., Adhikari, D., Stimmel, M. B., Weiss, E. F., Kumar, V. G. P., Sigamani, A., Verghese, J., & Ceïde, M. E. (2025). Apathy Is Associated with Slower Gait and Subjective Cognitive Complaints in a South Indian Community-Dwelling Cohort. Brain Sciences, 15(11), 1204. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci15111204

