Cognitively impaired spouses as primary caregivers for demented elderly people.
OBJECTIVE
To describe problems of dementia patients whose spousal caregivers are also cognitively impaired.


METHODS
Retrospective chart review.


METHODS
The geriatric assessment clinic at University of California, San Diego, which is one center for the California State sponsored Alzheimer's Disease Diagnosis and Treatment Center Program.


METHODS
During the period from January 1992 through May 1994, 65 patients completed the assessment and met the entry criteria of being demented and having a spousal caregiver. Twelve of the spouses scored six or more error points on the Katzman Short Orientation-Memory-Concentration Test.


METHODS
Patient data included age, living situation, other caregivers, use of formal and informal support systems, profiles of medical, cognitive, and functional ability, caregivers interactions, and recommendations from the evaluation.


RESULTS
Dementia patients with cognitively impaired spouses utilized fewer community resources (P = .021) and experienced difficulty with medication compliance (P = .041) more often than those with cognitively normal spousal caregivers.


CONCLUSIONS
Older caregivers of patients suffering from dementia should be screened for cognitive problems.
Boucher
L
L
Department of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, USA.
Renvall
M J
MJ
Jackson
J E
JE
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002140:California; D017028:Caregivers; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis; D003704:Dementia; D005260:Female; D016330:Frail Elderly; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies