• Il-Seon Shin, Michele Carter, Donna Masterman, Lynn Fairbanks, and Jeffrey L Cummings.
• Department of Psychiatry, Chonnam National University Medical School, Kwangju, Republic of Korea.
• Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2005 Jun 1; 13 (6): 469-74.

ObjectiveAuthors examined the impact of neuropsychiatric symptoms in Alzheimer disease (AD) patients' and caregivers' quality of life (QOL) and assessed the relationship of caregiver distress to neuropsychiatric symptoms and caregiver QOL.MethodsSixty-two patients with probable or possible AD and their caregivers participated. Neuropsychiatric symptoms of patients were assessed with the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI). QOL of both patients and caregivers was assessed using the QOL-Alzheimer's Disease (QOL-AD) scale. Each patient and caregiver completed patient QOL ratings; caregivers also completed caregiver QOL assessments.ResultsCaregiver QOL-AD was negatively correlated with agitation/aggression, anxiety, disinhibition, irritability/lability, and total NPI score. Patient QOL on both patient and caregiver ratings was negatively correlated with depression. Patient-reported QOL-AD ratings at different levels of cognitive functioning were not correlated with caregiver-reported ratings. The lack of relationship between patient and caregiver assessments of patient QOL was evident in both mildly and moderately affected patients. Caregiver QOL was negatively correlated with distress related to agitation/aggression, disinhibition, irritability/lability, and total NPI distress.ConclusionNeuropsychiatric symptoms of AD patients adversely affect both patient and caregiver QOL. These results suggest that identifying and treating neuropsychiatric symptoms in AD may improve both patient and caregiver QOL.

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