Year: 2008
Type: article
Abstract: Caring for a cognitively impaired relative can be demanding and stressful. Research has also found that there are some rewards associated with the caregiving experience (e.g., feeling more useful, feeling closer to the care recipient, and feeling good about one's self). Little research has examined how caregivers' experiences are related to the patterns of cognitive decline. Objective: To examine how outcomes of caregivers' experiences in caring for a relative with dementia or cognitive impairment without dementia (CIND) are related to trajectories of cognitive decline in the care recipient. The present study examined longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and additional data collected in the Aging, Demographics, and Memory Study (ADAMS), in which in-home comprehensive dementia evaluations were conducted with a stratified sub-sample of 856 participants in the HRS, a representative population sample in the U.S. A consensus panel reviewed the results of these evaluations and assigned a diagnosis of dementia, CIND, or normal cognition. A knowledgeable informant completed a questionnaire about their caregiving experience; only information from family members who identified themselves as caregivers were included in this study. Cognitive trajectories of episodic memory (assessed by a word recall task administered up to 7 times over a period of up to 14 years) were examined. Family caregivers of those diagnosed with dementia (n=156) or cognitive impairment without dementia (n=57) returned questionnaires (mean age 59.9 yrs; 51.6% with at least some college education; 72.3% women; 62% of caregivers were children, 22% spouses, and 16% other relatives). Latent growth curve models were calculated separately for individuals with dementia and those with CIND. Among caregivers of those with dementia (but not among those caring for individuals with CIND), higher levels of rewards were associated with lower levels of episodic memory and slower decline in memory scores over time (p < .05). However, there was no relationship between perceived physical or emotional strain and cognitive decline. Caregiving for cognitively impaired individuals is associated with both strains and rewards. Important outcomes of the caregiver's experience (i.e. rewards) are related to trajectories of cognitive decline.
Source: Alzheimer s & Dementia
Language: English
Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2085801465