Michael H Connors1, Katrin Seeher1, Armando Teixeira-Pinto2, Michael Woodward3, David Ames4, Henry Brodaty5. 1. Dementia Centre for Research Collaboration, School of Psychiatry, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, Australia; Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing, School of Psychiatry, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, Australia. 2. School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia. 3. Austin Hospital, Heidelberg, Australia. 4. University of Melbourne Academic Unit for Psychiatry of Old Age, Melbourne, Australia; National Ageing Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia. 5. Dementia Centre for Research Collaboration, School of Psychiatry, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, Australia; Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing, School of Psychiatry, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, Australia. Electronic address: h.brodaty@unsw.edu.au.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is common, affecting 10%-35% of people over 65, and poses unique challenges for patients and their caregivers. Comparatively little research has examined caregiver burden in this population, with longitudinal research, in particular, lacking. We examined caregiver burden in a sample of people with MCI over 3 years. DESIGN: Three-year observational study. SETTING: Nine memory clinics in Australia. PARTICIPANTS: One-hundred-and-eighty-five people with MCI and their caregivers. MEASUREMENTS: Measures of caregiver burden, cognition, function, neuropsychiatric symptoms, driving status, and medication use were completed with patients and their caregivers at regular intervals over a 3-year period. RESULTS: Between 21.1% and 29.5% of caregivers reported a clinically significant level of burden over the study. Patients' higher levels of neuropsychiatric symptoms, lower functional ability, and lack of driving ability, and caregivers' employment were associated with greater caregiver burden over time. Caregiver burden did not increase over time when controlling for patient and caregiver characteristics. CONCLUSIONS: High levels of caregiver burden are present in a significant proportion of caregivers of people with MCI. Clinical characteristics of patients - including severity of neuropsychiatric symptoms and functional impairment - and the employment status of caregivers predict burden. Such characteristics may help identify caregivers at greater risk of burden to target for intervention.
OBJECTIVES: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is common, affecting 10%-35% of people over 65, and poses unique challenges for patients and their caregivers. Comparatively little research has examined caregiver burden in this population, with longitudinal research, in particular, lacking. We examined caregiver burden in a sample of people with MCI over 3 years. DESIGN: Three-year observational study. SETTING: Nine memory clinics in Australia. PARTICIPANTS: One-hundred-and-eighty-five people with MCI and their caregivers. MEASUREMENTS: Measures of caregiver burden, cognition, function, neuropsychiatric symptoms, driving status, and medication use were completed with patients and their caregivers at regular intervals over a 3-year period. RESULTS: Between 21.1% and 29.5% of caregivers reported a clinically significant level of burden over the study. Patients' higher levels of neuropsychiatric symptoms, lower functional ability, and lack of driving ability, and caregivers' employment were associated with greater caregiver burden over time. Caregiver burden did not increase over time when controlling for patient and caregiver characteristics. CONCLUSIONS: High levels of caregiver burden are present in a significant proportion of caregivers of people with MCI. Clinical characteristics of patients - including severity of neuropsychiatric symptoms and functional impairment - and the employment status of caregivers predict burden. Such characteristics may help identify caregivers at greater risk of burden to target for intervention.
Authors: Rebecca L Robinson; Dorene M Rentz; Valerie Bruemmer; Jeffrey Scott Andrews; Anthony Zagar; Yongin Kim; Ronald L Schwartz; Wenyu Ye; Howard M Fillit Journal: J Alzheimers Dis Date: 2019 Impact factor: 4.472
Authors: Daphne Sze Ki Cheung; Grace Wing Ka Ho; Athena Chung Yin Chan; Ken Hok Man Ho; Robin Ka Ho Kwok; Yammie Pui Yan Law; Daniel Bressington Journal: BMC Geriatr Date: 2022-09-21 Impact factor: 4.070
Authors: Marle M Van Hienen; Roy Kuiper; Huub A M Middelkoop; Jacobus J Van Hilten; Maria Fiorella Contarino; Victor J Geraedts Journal: J Parkinsons Dis Date: 2022 Impact factor: 5.520