Does health‐related quality of life in Asian informal caregivers differ between early‐onset dementia and late‐onset dementia?

Aim Early‐onset dementia (EOD) (defined as dementia onset before age 65) presents specific challenges and issues, adding to the negative impact of dementia on the health‐related quality of life (HRQOL) of both patients and their caregivers. However, very few published studies have specifically compa...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychogeriatrics 2020-09, Vol.20 (5), p.608-619
Main Authors: Wang, Vivian W., Kandiah, Nagaendran, Lin, Xuling, Wee, Hwee‐Lin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age of Onset
Aged
Alzheimer's disease
Caregivers
Caregivers - psychology
Cross-Sectional Studies
Dementia
Dementia - nursing
Dementia disorders
early‐onset dementia
Health Status
Humans
Mental disorders
Mental health
Patients
Quality of Life
Singapore
young‐onset dementia
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Summary:Aim Early‐onset dementia (EOD) (defined as dementia onset before age 65) presents specific challenges and issues, adding to the negative impact of dementia on the health‐related quality of life (HRQOL) of both patients and their caregivers. However, very few published studies have specifically compared the HRQOL of caregivers of people with EOD and late‐onset dementia (LOD). This information is critical in allocating and prioritizing scarce health‐care resources. We aimed to assess the HRQOL of primary informal caregivers of community‐dwelling individuals with EOD in Singapore and compare it with that of caregivers of individuals with LOD. Methods This was a cross‐sectional study of consecutive patient–caregiver dyads from a tertiary dementia clinic. Results No significant differences in disease severity were found between the 111 EOD and 235 LOD patient–caregiver dyads. The mean Mental Component Summary score of the 36‐item Short‐Form Health Survey version 2 was significantly worse in caregivers of EOD patients than in LOD caregivers (mean: 41.42 vs 45.12, P = 0.001), although the mean Physical Component Summary scores were comparable (49.71 vs 49.53, P = 0.934). However, the impact of dementia early onset on caregivers' mental health diminished immediately after adjustment for the disease severity indicators, of which the Neuropsychiatric Inventory Questionnaire distress score was the only significant clinical factor (regression coefficient β = −0.29, P 
ISSN:1346-3500
1479-8301
DOI:10.1111/psyg.12556