Purpose: To examine caregivers' health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and well-being during the first 3 years after their family member's Alzheimer's disease (AD) diagnosis and assessed the relationship between caregivers' HRQoL, well-being, and the severity of AD. Further, to compare of caregivers' HRQoL to general population.
Methods: Longitudinal design (36 months) after AD diagnosis of 236 caregiver-patient dyads. Linear regression was used to assess age- and gender-adjusted association between repeated measurements of caregivers' HRQoL and the severity of AD. For comparison with general population, the National Health 2011 Health Examination Survey data was utilized.
Results: Caregivers had significantly lower HRQoL than age- and gender-standardized counterparts. Severity of AD was significantly (p < 0.05) associated with the mobility and depression dimensions of caregiver's HRQoL but not with the total HRQoL index score.
Conclusions: Caregivers' HRQoL seems to deteriorate earlier than previously noted. The severity of AD has not that great impact on caregiver's HRQoL as assumed.
Keywords: 15D; Alzheimer’s disease; Family caregivers; Health-related quality of life; Psychological distress.