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Spouse-caregivers’ quality of life in Alzheimer's disease

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 December 2014

Marcela Moreira Lima Nogueira ,
Jose Pedro Simões Neto ,
Maria Fernanda B. Sousa ,
Raquel L. Santos ,
Rachel D. L. Rosa ,
Tatiana Belfort ,
Bianca Torres  and
Marcia Cristina Nascimento Dourado
Marcela Moreira Lima Nogueira*
Affiliation:
Center for Alzheimer's Disease, Institute of Psychiatry, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Jose Pedro Simões Neto
Affiliation:
Department of Political Sociology, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Brazil
Maria Fernanda B. Sousa
Affiliation:
Center for Alzheimer's Disease, Institute of Psychiatry, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Raquel L. Santos
Affiliation:
Center for Alzheimer's Disease, Institute of Psychiatry, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Rachel D. L. Rosa
Affiliation:
Center for Alzheimer's Disease, Institute of Psychiatry, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Tatiana Belfort
Affiliation:
Center for Alzheimer's Disease, Institute of Psychiatry, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Bianca Torres
Affiliation:
Center for Alzheimer's Disease, Institute of Psychiatry, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Marcia Cristina Nascimento Dourado
Affiliation:
Center for Alzheimer's Disease, Institute of Psychiatry, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Marcela Moreira Lima Nogueira, Rua Ronald de Carvalho, 265/303, Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 22021-020, Brasil. Phone: +55 21 980514000. Email: marcela.lima.psi@gmail.com.
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Abstract

Background:

The relationship between sexuality and quality of life (QoL) of spouse-caregivers remains unclear. We designed this study to evaluate the relationship between sexual satisfaction and spouse-caregivers’ QoL, and to determine the influence of the clinical characteristics of people with dementia (PWD) on spouse-caregivers’ self-reported QoL.

Methods:

Using a cross-sectional design, 54 PWD and their spouse-caregivers completed the QoL in Alzheimer's Disease scale (QoL-AD), questionnaire on sexual experience and satisfaction (QSES), Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Clinical Dementia Rating scale (CDR), Assessment Scale of Psychosocial Impact of the Diagnosis of Dementia (ASPIDD), Pfeffer functional activities questionnaire (FAQ), the Cornell scale for depression in dementia (CSDD) and Zarit burden interview (ZBI). Univariate and multivariate regression analyses were conducted to identify the factors that influenced the spouse-caregivers’ QoL ratings.

Results:

We did not find a significant difference in QoL between male and female spouse-caregivers (p = 0.71). We also found that 13% of males and 48.1% of females demonstrated moderate to severe sexual dissatisfaction. However, we did not find a significant correlation between spouse-caregivers’ QoL and sexual satisfaction (p = 0.41). The linear regression indicated that impaired awareness and lower QoL of PWD were significantly related to spouse-caregivers’ QoL (p = 0.000).

Conclusions:

The spouse-caregivers’ QoL is influenced by awareness of disease and PWD QoL. Our study would be helpful for the development of adequate psycho-educational approaches to increase spouse-caregivers’ QoL, considering the specificities of the couples’ relationship.

Keywords

quality of lifeAlzheimer’s diseasespouse-caregivergenderdementiasexual satisfaction
Type
Research Article
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 27 , Issue 5 , May 2015 , pp. 837 - 845
Copyright
Copyright © International Psychogeriatric Association 2014 

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