Determining the Predictors of Change in Quality of Life Self-ratings and Carer-ratings for Community-dwelling People With Alzheimer Disease

The aim of this study was to determine the factors that mediate changes in Health Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) ratings by community-dwelling people with Alzheimer disease (AD) and carers over a period of 18 months. We completed an 18-month longitudinal study of 80 community-dwelling older adults diagnosed with probable AD of mild or moderate severity (NINCDS-ADRD criteria) and their family carers. The primary outcome of interest was the 18-month change in HRQoL ratings as measured with the Quality of Life-AD (QoL-AD) (by carer and by self). Explanatory variables included demographics, lifestyle, cognition, awareness, psychopathology, burden-of-care, use of medication, and functionality in daily life. We found a significant decline (8.7%, P=0.003) in QoL-AD carer-ratings, but not in self-ratings. The final parsimonious model of predictors of changes in QoL-AD self-ratings explained…

Read more…