Hinton Ladson, Haan Mary, Geller Sue, Mungas Dan
Department of Psychiatry, University of California, Davis, USA.
Gerontologist. 2003 Oct;43(5):669-77. doi: 10.1093/geront/43.5.669.
The purpose of this study was to determine neuropsychiatric symptom frequency and intensity in demented and cognitively impaired but not demented Latino elderly persons, evaluate whether overall neuropsychiatric symptom intensity is associated with higher levels of caregiver depression, and identify factors that modify the relationship between neuropsychiatric symptoms and caregiver depression.
Ninety-five elderly Latinos with dementia or cognitive impairment but not dementia (CIND), all of whom were identified through an ongoing epidemiological cohort study, and their informal caregivers participated in the study. Caregivers were interviewed in their homes, in either Spanish or English. The Neuropsychiatric Inventory was used to assess neuropsychiatric disturbances.
For most neuropsychiatric symptoms, prevalence and intensity were significantly higher in the demented group compared with the CIND group. The overall neuropsychiatric symptom intensity score was significantly associated with caregiver depression. The strength and direction of the association of neuropsychiatric symptoms with caregiver depression was found to vary by three factors: whether the caregiver was the care recipient's spouse, whether the care recipient had dementia or CIND, and the care recipient's age.
Neuropsychiatric symptoms may play a significant role in caregiver depression among Latino families. However, the impact of neuropsychiatric disturbances on Latino caregivers may differ depending on characteristics of both the caregiver and care recipient. The adverse impact of neuropsychiatric symptoms on caregivers of elderly persons with CIND has not been previously reported and deserves further study.
本研究旨在确定患有痴呆症以及认知受损但未患痴呆症的拉丁裔老年人的神经精神症状频率和强度,评估整体神经精神症状强度是否与照顾者更高程度的抑郁相关,并确定改变神经精神症状与照顾者抑郁之间关系的因素。
95名患有痴呆症或认知受损但未患痴呆症(CIND)的拉丁裔老年人及其非正式照顾者参与了研究,所有这些老年人均通过一项正在进行的流行病学队列研究确定。研究人员在照顾者家中用西班牙语或英语对他们进行访谈。使用神经精神症状问卷来评估神经精神障碍。
对于大多数神经精神症状,痴呆症组的患病率和强度显著高于CIND组。整体神经精神症状强度得分与照顾者抑郁显著相关。研究发现,神经精神症状与照顾者抑郁之间关联的强度和方向因三个因素而异:照顾者是否为受照顾者的配偶、受照顾者患有痴呆症还是CIND以及受照顾者的年龄。
神经精神症状可能在拉丁裔家庭照顾者的抑郁中起重要作用。然而,神经精神障碍对拉丁裔照顾者的影响可能因照顾者和受照顾者的特征而异。神经精神症状对CIND老年人照顾者的不利影响此前尚未见报道,值得进一步研究。