Article
Relationship between caregiver burden and the physical fitness and daily functional abilities of people with mild and moderate dementia
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Authors
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Jui-Chi Hsu
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, National Taiwan University Hospital Hsin-Chu Branch, Hsin-Chu, Taiwan
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Jung-Cheng Yang
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, National Taiwan University Hospital Hsin-Chu Branch, Hsin-Chu, Taiwan
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Yi-Chun Chein
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, National Taiwan University Hospital Hsin-Chu Branch, Hsin-Chu, Taiwan
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Yi-Chen Tsai
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, National Taiwan University Hospital Hsin-Chu Branch, Hsin-Chu, Taiwan
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Hsiao-Ting Tsai
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, National Taiwan University Hospital Hsin-Chu Branch, Hsin-Chu, Taiwan
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Ching-Fei Lo
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, National Taiwan University Hospital Hsin-Chu Branch, Hsin-Chu, Taiwan
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Hsing-Yu Chen
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, National Taiwan University Hospital Hsin-Chu Branch, Hsin-Chu, Taiwan
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Chia-Chen Chou
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, National Taiwan University Hospital Hsin-Chu Branch, Hsin-Chu, Taiwan
| Published: | April 16, 2019 |
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Outline
Text
Background: People with dementia survive an average 8 more years postdiagnosis, and more than 70% caregivers are relatives who provide care at home [1]. Those with mild and moderate dementia and who are cared by relatives dwell in the community, and there may be a relationship between caregiver burden and the physical fitness and daily functional abilities of people with dementia.
Aim: To assess the relationship between the level of caregiver burden and the physical fitness and daily functional abilities of people with mild and moderate dementia.
Method: 19 people (77.3 ± 9.6 years old) with mild and moderate dementia and their caregivers were included in this study. The data of functional ability (FIM. IADL), fitness (arm arch, sit-to-stand, leg-stretch, back-stretch, time up & go), balance (BBS), endurance (6MWT) and Zarit burden scale of caregivers [2] were collected from all participants. Correlation of all items were analyzed with the significant level set at 0.05.
Results/findings: 31.6% caregivers felt low or no burden, 42.1% felt mild to moderate burden, and 26.4% caregivers felt moderate to severe burden. There was moderate to high correlation between functional ability and upper extremity strength(r=.631, p<.05), balance(r=.778, p<.05) and time up & go (r=.683, p<.05) in people with dementia. There was moderate correlation between caregiver burden and lower limb flexibility. (r=.491, p<.05)
Discussion and conclusions: Due to moderate to high correlation between functional ability and physical fitness, keeping or improving physical fitness would be an important subject for people with mild and moderate dementia to maintain their functional ability. The moderate correlation between burden level and lower limb flexibility may be due to lower extremity stiffness, as it is one of the early symptoms of dementia.
References
- 1.
- Razani J, Kakos B, Orieta-Barbalace C, Wong JT, Casas R, Lu P, Alessi C, Josephson K. Predicting caregiver burden from daily functional abilities of patients with mild dementia. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2007;55(9):1415-20.
- 2.
- Stagg B, Larner AJ. Zarit Burden Interview: pragmatic study in a dedicated cognitive function clinic. Prog Neurol Psychiatry. 2015 Jul-Aug;19(4):23-7.
