In:
International Psychogeriatrics, Cambridge University Press (CUP), Vol. 31, No. 10 ( 2019-10), p. 1509-1516
Abstract:
To study potentially modifiable factors associated with the severity of agitation or aggression (A/A) symptoms among Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients. Design: Data from the Impact of Cholinergic Treatment Use (ICTUS) study, European longitudinal prospective observational study. Setting: Community dwelling outpatients included in 29 European memory clinics. Participants: 1375 participants with probable AD (Mini-Mental State Examination score of 10–26) with an informal caregiver. Measurements: At baseline and twice yearly over the two-year follow-up, patients underwent comprehensive clinical and neuropsychological assessments: sociodemographic data, cognitive status, functional impairment, and assessment of neuropsychiatric symptoms based on Neuro-Psychiatric Inventory (NPI). The ZARIT scale assessed the caregiver’s burden. The variable of interest was the severity of the item of A/A of the NPI. To study factors associated to the severity of A/A symptoms six months later, a multivariate mixed regression model was used. Results: Frequency of A/A symptom varied from 30% to 34% at each visit. Two factors were found to be independently associated with the severity of A/A: (1) the presence of affective disorder (anxiety, depression, and/or irritability) that increased the severity of the A/A by 0.89 point (coefficient:0.89; 95% Confidence Interval (CI) = [0.48,1.30], p 〈 0.001), and (2) a severe caregiver burden that increased the severity of the A/A by 1.08 point (coefficient:1.08; 95% CI = [0.69,1.47] , p 〈 0.001). Conclusion: Research should evaluate whether the identification and treatment of an affective disorder along with the evaluation and optimal management of the caregiver would have a positive impact on the course of A/A in mild to moderate AD patients.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
1041-6102
,
1741-203X
DOI:
10.1017/S1041610218001990
Language:
English
Publisher:
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Publication Date:
2019
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2147136-8
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