Patient and caregiver quality of life in Huntington's disease.
Little is known about subjective perceptions of quality of life (QOL) in Huntington's disease (HD). The current study determined correlates of patient and caregiver QOL and assessed change over time. Participants were 22 patient-caregiver dyads, who rated QOL at baseline and 6 months later. Overall, patients' functional and cognitive impairment were significantly correlated with patient and caregiver QOL. Neuropsychiatric symptoms had differential impact on patient and caregiver QOL. Furthermore, when patients recalled their QOL about a previous time, their recall may have been negatively biased. Clinical implications of results are discussed. Future work is needed because subjective QOL is an important outcome measure in therapeutic trials.
Ready
Rebecca E
RE
Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, USA. ready@psych.umass.edu
Mathews
Melissa
M
Leserman
Anne
A
Paulsen
Jane S
JS
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006816:Huntington Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011581:Psychological Tests; D011788:Quality of Life; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013995:Time