How Does Alzheimer's Disease Impact Me? Caregivers Respond

Introduction: It is acknowledged that caregiving for the AD patient can be a burden. The purpose of this study is to detail what aspects of the caregiver's life are affected by AD.

Methods: Data were collected using an internet-based survey, the Kantar Health Alzheimer's Disease Caregivers Study–Wave 17, administered in August 2009 to primary caregivers of AD patients in the US. The timeframe to consider for responses was the prior 6 months. Included was the Short Form (SF)-12 health survey.

Results: 1,079 caregivers responded. Burden was described as severe (9%), moderate (33%), mild (38%) or little (20%). When AD was stratified by severity, most caregivers still said burden was moderate or mild. SF-12 scores were 47 for physical health and 43.5 for mental health (0=worst, 100=best). Sleep difficulties and headaches were reported by 62% of the caregivers; 39% believed the sleep issues were related to caregiving. Other issues were anxiety (33%), headache (32%) and depression (18%). While 75% reported a visit to a PCP for their own health (mean visits 2.4), only 12% saw a counselor, yet the mean visits were 4.7. There were 515 employed caregivers who reported missing a mean of 5.7 days due to caregiving.

Discussion: Most caregivers reported their burden as less than severe. Yet when asked about details of their health, a high percentage reported problems. Outreach is needed to let caregivers know about resources to help them and to followup to make sure they are continuing to get the assistance they need.