Phenomenology and Prevalence of Neuroleptic-Induced Akathisia in Late Life

The authors examined 115 patients totaling 127 admissions to an acute care geriatric psychiatry inpatient unit using the Barnes Akathisia Scale. Subjective complaints of akathisia were associated with a diagnosis of major depression and correlated with Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression scores but were not associated with current neuroleptic treatment. Objective evidence of akathisia was strongly associated with current neuroleptic use. Patients from 45 admissions were receiving neuroleptics at the time of assessment. By using the presence of objective akathisia to define the syndrome, the authors identified 8 patients from these 45 (17.8%) as having neurolepticinduced akathisia (NIA). The presence of MA was associated with a lower rate of antiparkinsonian agent use. NIA contributed to the presenting complaints on admission in 7 patients, comprising 5.5% of all 127 admissions.