Associations, overlaps and dissociations between apathy and fatigue

Apathy and fatigue have a high prevalence in many pathological populations, but they are also present in healthy adults. The relationship between apathy and fatigue, which are both multidimensional, is still poorly understood. This study aims to describe the associations between the subdimensions of both apathy and fatigue and to investigate their overlaps and dissociations in healthy people. 729 participants (mean age = 30.8 ± 10.7 years) completed online self-assessment questionnaires. The Apathy Motivation Index and Dimensional Apathy Scale were used to assess apathy. The Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory was used to assess fatigue. The executive dimension of apathy showed the strongest correlations with mental fatigue and the two appeared to be underpinned by the same latent factor, according to exploratory factor analysis (EFA). The factor structure of EFA showed overlaps between behavioral apathy and both reduced motivation and activity in fatigue. Emotional and social dimensions of apathy were separately underpinned by a latent factor that comprised no items of fatigue. Apathy and fatigue have reduced activity and mental difficulties in common, whereas emotional and social disorders distinguish apathy from fatigue. This has important implications for assessing apathy and fatigue in the general population, and may be relevant for clinical practice.