title: Correlates of psychological distress in study partners of older people with and without mild cognitive impairment (MCI) - the Sydney Memory and Ageing Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Psychological effects of supporting someone with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are often overlooked. We aimed to establish correlates of psychological distress in study partners of individuals with and without nonclinical MCI.
  
  
  METHODS
  Demographic, psychosocial and health measures were obtained cross-sectionally from 714 participants (39% MCI) and study partners of a longitudinal community-based study on cognitive aging. Study partners (i.e. family members/friends) were categorized as providing support with instrumental everyday activities or not. Psychological distress was measured by the Kessler psychological distress scale. Multiple hierarchical regressions examined determinants of psychological distress within Pearlin's stress process model.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Psychological distress was generally low and not associated with MCI or whether study partners provided support or not. Instead, distress was greater if participants were male irrespective of study partners' sex and if study partners reported negative reactions to participants' behavioral symptoms, felt burdened by providing support and showed worse coping abilities; overall explaining 37% variance. Self-rated disability and aspects of health-related quality of life explained additional 7%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Objective impairment measures were not associated with distress in partners or supporters. However, study partners' appraisals of functional and behavioral symptoms were linked to increased distress even in this very mildly affected community cohort.
authors.affiliation: a Dementia Collaborative Research Centre, School of Psychiatry, UNSW Medicine , University of New South Wales , Sydney , Australia.
authors.forename: Katrin M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Seeher
authors.forename: Lee-Fay
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Low
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Reppermund
authors.forename: Melissa J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Slavin
authors.forename: Brian M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Draper
authors.forename: Kristan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Nicole A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Kochan
authors.forename: Julian N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Trollor
authors.forename: Perminder S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Sachdev
authors.forename: Henry
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Brodaty
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D060825:Cognitive Dysfunction; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009517:New South Wales; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012106:Research; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000175:diagnosis*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: behavior; burden; caregiver; instrumental activities of daily living; prodromal dementia