title: A three-year follow-up on the efficacy of psychosocial interventions for patients with mild dementia and their caregivers: the multicentre, rater-blinded, randomised Danish Alzheimer Intervention Study (DAISY).
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the long-term efficacy at the 36-month follow-up of an early psychosocial counselling and support programme lasting 8-12 months for community-dwelling patients with mild Alzheimer's disease and their caregivers.
  
  
  METHODS
  Multicentre, randomised, controlled, rater-blinded trial.
  
  
  METHODS
  Primary care and memory clinics in five Danish districts.
  
  
  METHODS
  330 home-dwelling patients with mild Alzheimer's disease and their primary caregivers (dyads).
  
  
  METHODS
  Dyads were randomised to receive intervention during the first year after diagnosis. Both intervention and control groups had follow-up visits at 3, 6, 12 and 36 months.
  
  
  METHODS
  Primary outcomes for the patients assessed at 36-month follow-up were changes from baseline in global cognitive function (Mini-Mental State Examination), depressive symptoms (Cornell Depression Scale) and proxy-rated EuroQoL quality of life on visual analogue scale. The primary outcomes for the caregivers were changes from baseline in depressive symptoms (Geriatric Depression Scale) and self-rated EuroQoL quality of life on a visual analogue scale. The secondary outcome measures for the patient were proxy-rated Quality of Life Scale for Alzheimer's disease (QoL-AD), Neuropsychiatric Inventory-Questionnaire, Alzheimer's disease Cooperative Study Activities of Daily Living Scale, all-cause mortality and nursing home placement.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At a 36-month follow-up, 2 years after the completion of the Danish Alzheimer Intervention Study (DAISY), the unadjusted positive effects previously detected at the 12-month follow-up in one patient primary outcome (Cornell depression score) and one patient secondary outcome (proxy-rated QoL-AD) disappeared (Cornell depression score, p=0.93; proxy-rated QoL-AD, p=0.81). No long-term effect of DAISY intervention on any other primary and secondary outcomes was found at the 36-month follow-up.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  For patients with very mild Alzheimer's disease and their caregivers, an intensive, multi-component, semitailored psychosocial intervention programme with counselling, education and support during the first year after diagnosis did not show any positive long-term effect on primary and secondary outcomes.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  The study was registered in the Clinical Trial Database (http://www.controlled-trials.com/ISRCTN74848736).
authors.affiliation: Memory Disorders Research Group, Danish Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurology, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Kieu T T
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Phung
authors.forename: F B
authors.initials: FB
authors.lastname: Waldorff
authors.forename: D V
authors.initials: DV
authors.lastname: Buss
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Eckermann
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Keiding
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rishøj
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Siersma
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sørensen
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Søgaard
authors.forename: L V
authors.initials: LV
authors.lastname: Sørensen
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vogel
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Waldemar