Phyllis and Harvey Sandler School of Social Work, The Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL, USA.
Comprehensive Center for Brain Health, Department of Neurology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA.
J Alzheimers Dis. 2021;82(4):1847-1859. doi: 10.3233/JAD-210616.
Pre-loss grief increases as dementia advances. Caregivers who experience pre-loss grief face risks to their own physical and psychological health.
The study examined factors associated with pre-loss grief in caregivers of older adults with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) to determine whether overall caregiver experiences differ based on the stages of DLB in care recipients. The study also compared pre-loss grief in caregivers of DLB patients with that in caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other dementias.
Using a cross-sectional design, 714 caregivers of older adults with dementia (488 DLB, 81 AD, 145 other dementias) completed an online survey on pre-loss grief. Multivariate linear regression identified risk factors associated with pre-loss grief and analysis of variance examined whether pre-loss grief in caregivers differed significantly based on type of dementia or stage of DLB.
Being the caregiver of a spouse, lower level of caregiver well-being, lower psychological well-being of the caregiver, and higher level of burden were associated (p < 0.005) with increased pre-loss grief in caregivers of older adults with DLB. There was no significant difference in caregiver burden, well-being, or depression according to the various stages of DLB (mild, moderate, severe, deceased) in the care recipients. There was no significant difference in pre-loss grief in caregivers of DLB care recipients compared to caregivers of patients with other dementias.
Assessment of DLB caregivers and appropriate interventions should be conducted to reduce their burden and emotional distress to decrease the incidence of pre-loss grief.
痴呆症的发展会导致预丧悲伤增加。经历预丧悲伤的照顾者面临着自身身心健康风险。
本研究旨在探讨与痴呆症路易体（DLB）患者照顾者预丧悲伤相关的因素，以确定照顾者的总体体验是否因受照顾者 DLB 阶段的不同而有所不同。本研究还比较了 DLB 患者照顾者的预丧悲伤与阿尔茨海默病（AD）和其他痴呆症患者照顾者的预丧悲伤。
采用横断面设计，714 名痴呆症老年患者的照顾者（488 名 DLB、81 名 AD、145 名其他痴呆症）完成了一项关于预丧悲伤的在线调查。多变量线性回归确定了与预丧悲伤相关的风险因素，方差分析检验了照顾者的预丧悲伤是否因痴呆症类型或 DLB 阶段的不同而有显著差异。
照顾者为配偶、照顾者的健康水平较低、照顾者的心理福祉较低以及负担较重与 DLB 老年患者照顾者的预丧悲伤增加有关（p < 0.005）。受照顾者 DLB 的各个阶段（轻度、中度、重度、死亡）的照顾者负担、健康状况或抑郁程度没有显著差异。与其他痴呆症患者的照顾者相比，DLB 受照顾者的照顾者的预丧悲伤没有显著差异。
应评估 DLB 照顾者，并采取适当的干预措施，以减轻他们的负担和情绪困扰，从而降低预丧悲伤的发生率。
