Shim Sang Hong, Kang Hyo Shin, Kim Ji Hae, Kim Doh Kwan
Center for Clinical Research, Samsung Biomedical Research Institute, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Department of Psychiatry, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Psychiatry Investig. 2016 Jan;13(1):43-9. doi: 10.4306/pi.2016.13.1.43. Epub 2015 Nov 20.
Dementia symptoms (cognitive function, daily-living function, and neuropsychiatric symptoms) become more serious over time, which is likely to increase caregiver burden. The aim of this study is to investigate which dementia-related symptoms, and how the progression of these symptoms, have influenced caregiver burden during a 1-year follow-up assessment.
A total of 110 patients with dementia were assessed for their cognitive function, daily-living function, and neuropsychiatric symptoms. Caregivers were assessed for their caregiver burden. Bivariate analyses were conducted between caregiver burden and dementia patients' symptoms, in order to examine which particular symptoms were significantly associated with caregiver burden at the baseline. A multiple regression analysis was then conducted with each significantly associated variable with a view to identifying determinants, influencing caregiver burden. Additionally, bivariate analyses were conducted between the changes in caregiver burden and the changes in patients' symptoms, to investigate which patient variable could best describe caregiver burden from baseline to the 1-year follow-up. A multiple regression analysis was conducted with each significantly-associated change in symptom, in order to identify determinants that influence a change in caregiver burden.
Neuropsychiatric symptoms, such as irritability, aberrant motor-behavior, delusions and disinhibition were found to be significant predictors of caregiver burden at baseline, according to multiple regression analysis. In addition, changes in neuropsychiatric symptoms, such as delusions, agitation and memory-related functioning in daily-living significantly predict a change in caregiver burden.
Our results demonstrate that neuropsychiatric symptoms and memory impairment in daily-living functions are significant predictors of an increase in caregiver burden.
痴呆症状（认知功能、日常生活功能和神经精神症状）会随着时间推移而加重，这可能会增加照料者的负担。本研究旨在调查在为期1年的随访评估中，哪些与痴呆相关的症状以及这些症状的进展如何影响照料者的负担。
对总共110名痴呆患者的认知功能、日常生活功能和神经精神症状进行评估。对照料者的照料负担进行评估。在照料负担与痴呆患者症状之间进行双变量分析，以检查在基线时哪些特定症状与照料负担显著相关。然后对每个显著相关变量进行多元回归分析，以确定影响照料负担的决定因素。此外，在照料负担的变化与患者症状的变化之间进行双变量分析，以调查从基线到1年随访期间，哪些患者变量最能描述照料负担。对每个症状的显著相关变化进行多元回归分析，以确定影响照料负担变化的决定因素。
根据多元回归分析，易怒、异常运动行为、妄想和脱抑制等神经精神症状在基线时是照料负担的显著预测因素。此外，妄想、激越和日常生活中与记忆相关的功能等神经精神症状的变化显著预测了照料负担的变化。
我们的结果表明，神经精神症状和日常生活功能中的记忆损害是照料负担增加的显著预测因素。
