Impact of Donepezil on Caregiving Burden for Patients With Alzheimer's Disease

Comprehensive Alzheimer's disease (AD) treatment should address caregiver well-being. We predicted that caregiver burden would be lower among caregivers of AD patients who received donepezil relative to caregivers of patients not treated with donepezil. A self-administered, nationwide survey of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International psychogeriatrics 2000-09, Vol.12 (3), p.389-401
Main Authors: Fillit, Howard M., Gutterman, Elane M., Brooks, Rachelle L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged
Alzheimer Disease - drug therapy
Alzheimer's disease
Biological and medical sciences
Caregiver burden
Caregivers
Caregivers - psychology
Cholinesterase Inhibitors - therapeutic use
Cost of Illness
Drug therapy
Female
Humans
Indans - therapeutic use
Male
Medical sciences
Miscellaneous
Neuropharmacology
Palliative care
Pharmacology. Drug treatments
Piperidines - therapeutic use
Psycholeptics: tranquillizer, neuroleptic
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopharmacology
Public health. Hygiene
Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine
Quality of life
Stress
Well being
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Summary:Comprehensive Alzheimer's disease (AD) treatment should address caregiver well-being. We predicted that caregiver burden would be lower among caregivers of AD patients who received donepezil relative to caregivers of patients not treated with donepezil. A self-administered, nationwide survey of AD caregivers was used to match caregivers of patients treated with donepezil (n = 274) to caregivers of patients not treated with donepezil (n = 274). The Caregiver Burden Scale measured time demands and distress linked to commonly performed caregiving tasks. Respondents were three-quarters female, with an average age of 60 years. Results demonstrated that donepezil caregivers reported significantly lower scores on difficulty of caregiving. This difference remained when statistical controls for multiple patient and caregiver variables were imposed. However, selection factors must be recognized as a possible explanation for differences. The groups reported no difference on the time-demand subscale. In conclusion, better management of AD symptoms through donepezil treatment may reduce the burden of caregiving, providing physicians with a pharmacologic approach to improving quality of life for AD patients and their families.
ISSN:1041-6102
1741-203X
DOI:10.1017/S1041610200006499