Search results for ‘Subject term:"alzheimers disease"’ Sort:
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Caregiver burden in family carers of people with dementia with Lewy bodies and Alzheimer's disease
- Authors:
- SVENDSBOE Ellen, et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 31(9), 2016, pp.1075-1083.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Objective: To characterise the differences in caregiver distress between carers of people diagnosed with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and people with Alzheimer's disease (AD), with a view to differentiating and improving support for caregivers. Methods: This study is a part of two larger Norwegian studies, DemVest (n = 265) and The Norwegian Dementia Register (n = 2220), with data from caregivers and people diagnosed with AD (n = 100) and DLB (n = 86) between 2005 and 2013. The average age was 74.9 years (SD = 7.8). Caregiver distress was rated by the Relative Stress Scale. Diagnosis of the person receiving care was based on a comprehensive standardised assessment program (International Classification of Diseases, Revision 10 or Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders, fourth edition). Additional data collected from people receiving care were neuropsychiatric symptoms, comorbidity and activities of daily living (ADL) score. Linear regression analyses were applied, first unadjusted and then in stepwise-adjusts in addition to descriptive analyses. Results: Caregivers to people with AD (20.2%) and 40% of caregivers for people with DLB experienced moderate or high caregiver burden with an increased risk of psychiatric disorders in the early stage of dementia. High Relative Stress Scale (RSS) total scores in caregivers was significantly associated with neuropsychiatric symptoms and also with impaired ADL functioning. Conclusion: Caregiver distress differed between people caring for someone with AD (15.0) and those caring for someone with DLB (19.9). These findings have direct implications for the needs and resources that could be available for these individuals and indicate the need for further research into caregiver burden in carers to people with DLB. (Edited publisher abstract)
Alzheimer's disease caregiver burden: does resilience matter?
- Author:
- SCOTT Cathy B.
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 23(8), 2013, pp.879-892.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
Caring for an individual with Alzheimer's disease is at times challenging and can lead to caregiver burden. Resilience is a personality characteristic that has emerged as a protective factor among aging individuals. This study was conducted to examine the moderating effect of resilience between caregiver stressors and caregiver burden. For the study one hundred ten (N = 110) caregivers were recruited from community agencies that provide education and support to Alzheimer's disease caregivers in the southeastern region of the USA. The study assessed caregiver knowledge, care recipient functional independence, and care recipient behaviours. The results of the study indicate that resilience was not identified as a moderator between stressors and caregiver burden; however, a relationship exists between resilience and caregiver burden. Specifically, as resilience in Alzheimer's disease caregivers increases, their caregiver burden decreases. These findings highlight the importance of supportive interventions that will increase resilience in Alzheimer's disease caregivers. (Edited publisher abstract)
The moderating role of personal mastery on the relationship between caregiving status and multiple dimensions of fatigue
- Authors:
- ROEPKE Susan K., et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 24(12), December 2009, pp.1453-1462.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
A substantial proportion of chronically-stressed spousal dementia caregivers report fatigue. This study tests the hypothesis that the relationship between caregiver status and fatigue is moderated by personal mastery. Seventy-three elderly Alzheimer’s caregivers and 41 elderly non-caregivers completed the Multidimensional Fatigue Symptom Inventory-Short Form and questionnaires assessing mastery. The results confirmed that fatigue was significantly higher for caregivers. However, personal mastery moderated the relation between caregiving status and both emotional and physical fatigue, so that the association between caregiver status and fatigue was significantly greater when mastery was low. Caregivers with high mastery had significant reduction in both emotional and physical fatigue compared to those with low mastery. Considering the large proportion of caregivers who experience fatigue and the impact that this can have on physical and mental health, these findings provide information on a possible target for intervention aimed at alleviating fatigue in caregivers.
Caregiver burden characterization in patients with Alzheimer's disease or vascular dementia
- Authors:
- D'ONOFRIO Grazia, et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 30(9), 2015, pp.891-899.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Objective: To characterise the differences of caregiver burden in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and vascular dementia (VaD) in order to improve the care counselling and management plan. Methods: The study included 506 patients consecutively attending the Alzheimer's Evaluation Unit of a Geriatric Unit, evaluated with Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR), Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, and Neuropsychiatric Inventory. To all caregivers were administered the Caregiver Burden Inventory (CBI), a 24-item multidimensional questionnaire in which 5 subscales explore 5 dimensions of caregiver burden: (1) CBI-Objective; (2) CBI-Developmental; (3) CBI-Physical; (4) CBI-Social; and (5) CBI-Emotional. Results: The present study included, respectively, 253 AD patients and 253 VaD patients. AD patients at baseline showed a significantly higher instruction level, higher grade of cognitive impairment, and increased severity stage of dementia than VaD patients. AD caregivers, mainly females, devoted significantly more length of time care and time of daily care and showed a significantly higher burden level in CBI-Objective, CBI-Physical, CBI-Social, CBI-Emotional, and CBI-total score, than VaD caregivers. In both caregiver groups, a higher presence of spouses and sons compared to other relatives was observed. AD caregiver burden showed a significant association with sex of caregivers and length of time care in months. Conclusions: AD caregivers showed a higher burden level than VaD caregivers, and this appeared to be associated with sex and length of time care. (Edited publisher abstract)
Family stigma and caregiver burden in Alzheimer’s disease
- Authors:
- WERNER Perla, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Gerontologist, 52(1), February 2012, pp.89-97.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
Research in the area of mental illness suggests that caregivers’ perception of stigma is associated with increased burden. The stigma experienced by the family members of an individual with a stigmatised illness includes 3 dimensions: caregiver self-stigma, lay public stigma, and structural stigma. The aim of this study was to examine whether family stigma is a predictor of caregiver burden in the case of Alzheimer’s disease. The participants were a convenience sample of 185 adult children who were primary caregivers of an elderly parent with Alzheimer’s disease. Structured face-to-face interviews were conducted with the participants between December 2008 and August 2009. The findings provide evidence that caregiver stigma increases caregiver burden in the case of Alzheimer’s disease. The 2 caregiver stigma variables of shame and decreased involvement with caregiving were found to be the major contributing factors. None of the variables included in the dimensions of lay public stigma or structural stigma added significantly to caregiver burden.
Caregiver burden as a short-term predictor of weight loss in older outpatients suffering from mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease: a three months follow-up study
- Authors:
- BILOTTA Claudio, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 14(4), May 2010, pp.481-488.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
For people affected by Alzheimer’s disease malnutrition is a common problem throughout all stages of the disease. The aim of this study was to investigate whether caregiver burden can be an independent predictive factor of weight loss in the short term in older outpatients suffering from mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease and living at home. A prospective cohort study involved 105 subjects aged 70 years or more, affected by mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease and living at home with the assistance of at least one informal caregiver. The patients underwent a multidimensional geriatric assessment, and body weight was re-evaluated at a 3 month follow-up. Those who experienced a weight loss greater than 3% of the baseline weight constituted the 'weight loss' group. Caregiver burden was assessed using the Caregiver Burden Inventory scale. The results showed that out of the 97 older participants attending follow-up, 22 (23%) had experienced a weight loss greater than 3%. A greater caregiver burden at baseline turned out to predict weight loss at 3 months independently of other factors associated with the 'weight loss' group such as age, functional dependence and the risk of malnutrition estimated by means of the Mini Nutritional Assessment Short Form. The article concludes that for older outpatients affected by mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease and living at home, caregiver burden constitutes a risk factor for weight loss even in the short-term.
Testing self-efficacy as a pathway that supports self-care among family caregivers in a psychoeducational intervention
- Authors:
- SAVUNDRANAYAGAM Marie Y., BRINTNALL-PETERSON Mary
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Family Social Work, 13(2), March 2010, pp.149-162.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
The widely used psychoeducational programme, Powerful Tools for Caregiving (PTC), addresses the issue of self-care for informal caregivers of individuals with chronic illnesses. This study investigated the extent to which this intervention supports family-centred care by influencing health risk and self-care behaviours. The participants were 325 caregivers of individuals with Alzheimer's disease who participated in PTC classes in Wisconsin from 2001 to 2004. The participants completed pre-PTC and post-PTC questionnaires, which included an open-ended question asking participants to write about the ways in which PTC helped them with specific concerns or problems. The study's findings revealed that family caregivers experienced reductions in health risk behaviours and improvements in exercise, stress management, and relaxation activities as a result of participating in the psychoeducational intervention. Improvement in self-efficacy was linked with reductions in health risk behaviours and increased involvement in stress management and relaxation activities. Implications are discussed in terms of the need to understand the mechanisms by which interventions influence family caregivers and the role these mechanisms play in supporting family-centred care.
Depressed mood mediates decline in cognitive processing speed in caregivers
- Authors:
- VITALIANO Peter P., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Gerontologist, 49(1), February 2009, pp.12-22.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
This study evaluated the relationship between caregiver status and decline on the digit symbol test (DST; a measure of processing speed, attention, cognitive–motor translation, and visual scanning) and whether this relationship was mediated by depressed mood. Caregivers for spouses with Alzheimer's disease (n = 122) were compared with demographically similar noncaregiver spouses (n = 117) at study entry (Time 1 = T1), T2 (1 year later), and T3 (2 years after T1). Caregivers had lower DST scores and higher Hamilton depression scores at T1, T2, and T3 than noncaregivers. Hierarchical linear modelling revealed that although caregivers started well below noncaregivers, they experienced a more rapid rate of decline than noncaregivers. Caregivers declined 4.5 times faster than noncaregivers. Greater depressed mood at T1 and T2 predicted DST decline and mediated DST decline in caregivers vs. noncaregivers. Implications: Depressed mood in caregivers relative to noncaregivers may influence their greater risk for DST decline. This is important because the DST predicts problem solving and everyday functions necessary for independent living and the potential well-being of their care recipients.
Personal losses and relationship quality in dementia caregiving
- Authors:
- ADAMS Kathryn Betts, McCLENDON McKee J., SMYTH Kathleen A.
- Journal article citation:
- Dementia: the International Journal of Social Research and Practice, 7(3), August 2008, pp.301-329.
- Publisher:
- Sage
Models of the dementia caregiving stress process specify that the impairments and behavioural problems of the person with Alzheimer's disease or related disorder (ADRD) and primary subjective stressors, such as burden, along with secondary stressors and appraisals, lead to negative outcomes such as depression. This cross-sectional study focused on the affective and relational aspects of this process, examining the associations of personal and relational losses and perceived relationship quality to ADRD caregivers' depressive symptoms, using a series of multiple regressions to specify a path model. This theoretical model specified personal losses and the subjective relationship quality as intervening variables between the care recipient impairments and subsequent subjective stressors, overload and role captivity. Loss of intimate exchange, current quality of relationship, and loss of self each had direct effects or indirect effects on caregiver depression that suggest the important role of personal and relational losses in the stress process.
The attenuating effect of personal mastery on the relations between stress and Alzheimer caregiver health: a five-year longitudinal analysis
- Authors:
- MAUSBACJ B. T., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 11(6), November 2007, pp.637-644.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
The objectives of this American study were to evaluate the impact of personal mastery and caregiving stress on caregiver depressive symptoms and health over time and to examine the moderating effect of mastery on the relations between stress and these outcomes. A total of 130 spousal Alzheimer caregivers completed yearly assessments of personal mastery, role overload, health symptoms and depressive symptoms. Random regression was used to evaluate the relations between time-varying values for stress and mastery in predicting depressive and health symptoms. It was found that variation in depressive symptoms over time was significantly related to role overload and personal mastery. A significant overload-by-mastery interaction was found for predicting depressive symptoms and caregiver health, whereby mastery attenuated the effect of stress on these outcomes. It is concluded that personal mastery appears to reduce the effects of stress on depression and health outcomes over time.