The impact of caregiver executive skills on reports of patient functioning.
OBJECTIVE
The initial diagnosis and treatment of cognitive disorders such as mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease is highly dependent on caregiver reports of patient performance of activities of daily living (ADLs). However, these reports may not always be reliable. We investigated the cognitive skills of caregivers, specifically their executive functioning (EF), as a potential explanatory variable of discrepancies between caregiver report of and patient performance on ADLs.


METHODS
Forty spousal dyads consisting of one cognitively unimpaired spouse and one spouse with either mild cognitive impairment (n = 20) or mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease (n = 20) were included in the study. Caregivers completed eight measures of EF and reported on their spouses' ADL performance, which was then directly assessed. Caregiver education and a composite EF score were then used to predict the difference in ADL ratings.


RESULTS
Regression analyses revealed that caregiver EF composite score (beta =.33; p =.04) and level of education (beta = -.11; p <.05) were significant predictors of the discrepancies between caregiver ADL reports and directly assessed patient performance on ADLs (R(2) =.11; p =.04).


CONCLUSIONS
The findings of this study suggest that the executive skills of spousal caregivers may influence the accuracy of subjectively reported ADL measures. Physicians should be aware of such potential biases when evaluating patients for memory disorders and should consider using objective measures for assessing functional impairment within their patient population. Future studies should investigate whether cognitive training and educational programs for caregivers increase the accuracy of their ADL reports.
Dassel
Kara Bottiggi
KB
Department of the Graduate Center for Gerontology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, USA. kara.bottiggi@chw.edu
Schmitt
Frederick A
FA
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000451:nursing / Q000503:physiopathology; D017028:Caregivers; D003704:Dementia / Q000451:nursing / Q000503:physiopathology; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015588:Observer Variation; D015203:Reproducibility of Results