Activities of Daily Living in Dementia Differentially Contribute to Factors of Caregiver Burden

Background: Performance of daily activities (Activities of Daily Living [ADLs] and Instrumental ADLs [IADLs]) is key to independent functioning in dementia, and greater I/ADL dependence contributes to burden in caregivers. We investigated how domains of daily living activities predict previously defined factors of the Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI). Methods: Caregiver and care recipient data for 389 dyads were extracted from outpatient memory clinic records. Results: Four previously defined factors of the ZBI (‘Impact on Life’, ‘Guilt/Uncertainty’, ‘Embarrassment/Frustration’, ‘Overwhelm’) were used in regression analyses, which demonstrated that ADLs predicted Impact on Life and Embarrassment/Frustration while IADLs predicted only Embarrassment/Frustration. Conclusions: Areas of decline in daily performance may differentially contribute to facets of dementia caregiver burden, with ADLs potentially having greater impact than IADLs.