Research Unit, Institut d'Assistència Sanitària, Girona, Spain.
Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2013 Mar;28(3):291-7. doi: 10.1002/gps.3824. Epub 2012 May 4.
Anosognosia is the lack of deficit awareness, and it is a common symptom in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). The objective of this study was to assess the relationship between anosognosia and caregiver burden.
This was a cross-sectional, analytical study of patients who were diagnosed with AD and their caregivers. Anosognosia was evaluated using the Experimenter Rating Scale, and caregiver burden was evaluated using the Burden Interview (BI). Using the BI's comprehensive scoring and each of its five factors as dependent variables, we adjusted six linear regression models to determine the effect of anosognosia on caregiver burden.
The sample consisted of 124 patients and 124 caregivers. The mean patient age was 78.9 years (SD = 6.9); the mean caregiver age was 59.7 years (SD = 13.6), and 66.6% of the caregivers were women. The prevalence of anosognosia was 24.2% (95% confidence interval = 16.7-33.3). The degree of caregiver burden was associated with the degree of anosognosia (r(2) = 0.426; standardised beta [βs] = 0.346; p < 0.001), which explained 14.7% of the variance. For the BI factors, the Experimenter Rating Scale was associated with physical and social burden (r(2) = 0.452; βs = 0.378; p < 0.001), relationship of dependence (r(2) = 0.301; βs = 0.203; p = 0.010) and emotional stress (r(2) = 0.212; βs = 0.227; p = 0.014).
The presence of anosognosia in patients with AD is an independent factor that increases caregiver burden by increasing physical wear, social isolation, dependence and tension related to patient care.
认知障碍是指对缺陷缺乏认识，是阿尔茨海默病（AD）患者的常见症状。本研究的目的是评估认知障碍与照料者负担之间的关系。
这是一项横断面分析研究，纳入了被诊断为 AD 的患者及其照料者。使用实验者评估量表评估认知障碍，使用负担访谈量表（BI）评估照料者负担。使用 BI 的综合评分和五个因素中的每个因素作为因变量，我们调整了六个线性回归模型，以确定认知障碍对照料者负担的影响。
样本包括 124 名患者和 124 名照料者。患者的平均年龄为 78.9 岁（标准差=6.9）；照料者的平均年龄为 59.7 岁（标准差=13.6），66.6%的照料者为女性。认知障碍的患病率为 24.2%（95%置信区间=16.7-33.3）。照料者负担的严重程度与认知障碍的严重程度相关（r²=0.426；标准化β [βs] =0.346；p<0.001），解释了 14.7%的方差。对于 BI 因素，实验者评估量表与身体和社会负担（r²=0.452；βs=0.378；p<0.001）、依赖关系（r²=0.301；βs=0.203；p=0.010）和情绪压力（r²=0.212；βs=0.227；p=0.014）相关。
AD 患者存在认知障碍是一个独立的因素，通过增加身体疲劳、社会隔离、对患者护理的依赖和紧张感，增加了照料者负担。
