Objective: To utilise the newly established the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society (MDS) Task Force diagnostic criteria for Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) in Parkinson’s disease (PD) to investigate caregiver outcomes in relation to four specific aspects: (1) caregiver burden, (2) quality of life (QoL), (3) positive and negative dimensions of caregiving reactions, and (4) psychological distress.

Background: Recent attempts to standardise the definition of PD-MCI by the MDS Task Force has led to a greater understanding of these relationships but to date, there has been a paucity of research regarding the impact of PD-MCI on caregiver outcomes.

Methods: This study included a total of 166 patient-caregiver dyads. Caregiver outcomes as measured by the World Health Organisation Quality of Life Scale BREF version (WHOQoL-BREF), Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI), Caregiver Reaction Assessment Scale (CRA), and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) were compared between caregivers of PD patients classified as having normal cognition (PD-NC) and PD-MCI.

Results: Caregivers of PD-MCI patients (n = 47) reported a significantly higher level of caregiver burden (ZBI), lower level of QoL with regard to physical health (WHOQoL-BREF: physical health domain) and more interruptions with usual activities (CRA: impact on schedule domain) than caregivers of PD-NC patients (n = 119).

Conclusions: This study has shown that even at an earlier stage of cognitive impairment, PD-MCI caregivers are already experiencing an elevated level of distress in the role of providing care to their care-recipients. These findings highlight the need to include management of caregiver distress and its associated psychological aspects alongside the management of PD-MCI patients.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/mild-cognitive-impairment-in-parkinsons-disease-impact-on-caregiver-outcomes/