Frailty and Quality of Life for People With Alzheimer’s Dementia and Mild Cognitive Impairment

Background: Our aim was to investigate the relationship between frailty and health-related quality of life (HR-QOL) in cognitively impaired elderly individuals. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study of a convenience sample of 115 patients with a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s dementia or mild cog...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias 2012-02, Vol.27 (1), p.48-54
Main Authors: Mhaoláin, Aine M. Ní, Gallagher, Damien, Crosby, Lisa, Ryan, Deirdre, Lacey, Loretto, Coen, Robert F., Coakley, Davis, Walsh, J. Bernard, Cunningham, Conal, Lawlor, Brian
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Activities of Daily Living - psychology
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Alzheimer Disease - diagnosis
Alzheimer Disease - psychology
Alzheimer's disease
Cognitive ability
Cognitive Dysfunction - diagnosis
Cognitive Dysfunction - psychology
Cross-Sectional Studies
Current Topics in Research
Dementia - diagnosis
Dementia - psychology
Dementia disorders
Female
Geriatrics
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Neurodegenerative diseases
Quality of life
Quality of Life - psychology
Regression analysis
Severity of Illness Index
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Summary:Background: Our aim was to investigate the relationship between frailty and health-related quality of life (HR-QOL) in cognitively impaired elderly individuals. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study of a convenience sample of 115 patients with a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s dementia or mild cognitive impairment. Frailty was measured using the biological syndrome model and HR-QOL was measured using the DEMQOL-Proxy. Regression models were constructed to establish the factors associated with HR-QOL. Results: Frailty and neuropsychiatric symptoms were associated with HR-QOL, with Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores ≥21 (P = .037, P ≤ .001, and R 2 = .362). Functional limitation was associated with HR-QOL, with MMSE scores ≤20 (P = .017 and R 2 = .377). Conclusion: Frailty and neuropsychiatric symptoms were the determinants of HR-QOL in the earlier stages of cognitive impairment. Functional limitation predicted HR-QOL in the later stages of cognitive impairment. Frailty may represent a novel modifiable target in early dementia to improve HR-QOL for patients.
ISSN:1533-3175
1938-2731
DOI:10.1177/1533317511435661