Caregiver burden and quality of life associated with behavioral and psychological symptoms of Alzheimer's disease: A web-based cross-sectional survey study

BackgroundBehavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) may seriously impact caregiver burden and, therefore, quality of care.ObjectiveTo clarify the association of BPSD and BPSD subtypes with caregiver burden and quality of life (QOL) among caregivers of patients with AD in Japan in a multidimensional manner.MethodsThis descriptive, cross-sectional, community-based survey involved administering a web-based questionnaire to live-in caregivers of patients with AD registered with Macromill Inc. BPSD prevalence was measured using the Japanese version of the Neuropsychiatric Inventory-Questionnaire Form. The Japanese version of the Zarit Caregiver Burden Scale (J-ZBI), EQ-5D-5L, and Adult Social Care Outcomes Toolkit for Carers (ASCOT-Carer) were used to assess caregiver burden, health-related QOL, and social care-related QOL, respectively.ResultsOf 705 survey responders, 639 (90.6%) and 66 (9.4%) cared for patients with and without BPSD, respectively. Mean caregiver age was 54.6 years, 56.9% were male, and 84.0% cared for parents or in-laws. In the "with BPSD" group, the J-ZBI score was higher (mean difference [95% confidence interval], 6.7 [4.5, 9.0]; <i>p</i> < 0.001), while EQ-5D-5L and ASCOT-Carer scores were lower (-0.076 [-0.134, -0.018; <i>p</i> = 0.010] and -0.101 [-0.168, -0.033]; <i>p</i> = 0.003, respectively) than in the "without BPSD" group.ConclusionsA significant association between increased caregiver burden and BPSD in patients with AD was demonstrated, which may be associated with decreased caregiver healthcare and social care-related QOL.