title: Caregiver burden characterization in patients with Alzheimer's disease or vascular dementia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To characterize the differences of caregiver burden in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and vascular dementia (VaD) in order to improve the care counselling and management plan.
  
  
  METHODS
  We included 506 patients consecutively attending the Alzheimer's Evaluation Unit of a Geriatric Unit, evaluated with Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR), Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, and Neuropsychiatric Inventory. To all caregivers were administered the Caregiver Burden Inventory (CBI), a 24-item multidimensional questionnaire in which 5 subscales explore 5 dimensions of caregiver burden: (1) CBI-Objective; (2) CBI-Developmental; (3) CBI-Physical; (4) CBI-Social; and (5) CBI-Emotional.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The present study included, respectively, 253 AD patients and 253 VaD patients. AD patients at baseline showed a significantly higher instruction level (p < .0001), higher grade of cognitive impairment (MMSE, p < .0001), and increased severity stage of dementia (CDR, p < .0001) than VaD patients. AD caregivers, mainly females (p = 0.010), devoted significantly more length of time care (in months, p = 0.010) and time of daily care (in hours, p = 0.011) and showed a significantly higher burden level in CBI-Objective (p = 0.047), CBI-Physical (p < .0001), CBI-Social (p = 0.003), CBI-Emotional (p < .0001), and CBI-total score (p < .0001), than VaD caregivers. In both caregiver groups, a higher presence of spouses and sons (p < .0001) compared to other relatives was observed. AD caregiver burden showed a significant association with sex of caregivers and length of time care in months.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  AD caregivers showed a higher burden level than VaD caregivers, and this appeared to be associated with sex and length of time care.
authors.affiliation: Geriatric Unit and Laboratory of Gerontology and Geriatrics, Department of Medical Sciences, IRCCS "Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza", San Giovanni Rotondo, Foggia, Italy.
authors.forename: Grazia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: D'Onofrio
authors.affiliation: Geriatric Unit and Laboratory of Gerontology and Geriatrics, Department of Medical Sciences, IRCCS "Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza", San Giovanni Rotondo, Foggia, Italy.
authors.forename: Daniele
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sancarlo
authors.affiliation: Geriatric Unit and Laboratory of Gerontology and Geriatrics, Department of Medical Sciences, IRCCS "Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza", San Giovanni Rotondo, Foggia, Italy.
authors.forename: Filomena
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Addante
authors.affiliation: Geriatric Unit and Laboratory of Gerontology and Geriatrics, Department of Medical Sciences, IRCCS "Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza", San Giovanni Rotondo, Foggia, Italy.
authors.forename: Filomena
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ciccone
authors.affiliation: Geriatric Unit and Laboratory of Gerontology and Geriatrics, Department of Medical Sciences, IRCCS "Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza", San Giovanni Rotondo, Foggia, Italy.
authors.forename: Leandro
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cascavilla
authors.affiliation: Geriatric Unit and Laboratory of Gerontology and Geriatrics, Department of Medical Sciences, IRCCS "Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza", San Giovanni Rotondo, Foggia, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Paris
authors.affiliation: Geriatric Unit and Laboratory of Gerontology and Geriatrics, Department of Medical Sciences, IRCCS "Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza", San Giovanni Rotondo, Foggia, Italy.
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Picoco
authors.affiliation: Geriatric Unit and Laboratory of Gerontology and Geriatrics, Department of Medical Sciences, IRCCS "Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza", San Giovanni Rotondo, Foggia, Italy.
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nuzzaci
authors.affiliation: Geriatric Unit and Laboratory of Gerontology and Geriatrics, Department of Medical Sciences, IRCCS "Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza", San Giovanni Rotondo, Foggia, Italy.
authors.forename: Anna Chiara
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Elia
authors.affiliation: Geriatric Unit and Laboratory of Gerontology and Geriatrics, Department of Medical Sciences, IRCCS "Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza", San Giovanni Rotondo, Foggia, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Greco
authors.affiliation: Geriatric Unit and Laboratory of Gerontology and Geriatrics, Department of Medical Sciences, IRCCS "Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza", San Giovanni Rotondo, Foggia, Italy.|Geriatrics Unit, Azienda ULSS 16, Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Ramona
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Chiarini
authors.affiliation: Geriatric Unit and Laboratory of Gerontology and Geriatrics, Department of Medical Sciences, IRCCS "Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza", San Giovanni Rotondo, Foggia, Italy.|Neurodegenerative Disease Unit, Department of Basic Medicine, Neuroscience, and Sense Organs, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Panza
authors.affiliation: Geriatric Unit and Laboratory of Gerontology and Geriatrics, Department of Medical Sciences, IRCCS "Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza", San Giovanni Rotondo, Foggia, Italy.|Geriatrics Unit, Azienda ULSS 16, Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pilotto
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000451:nursing* / Q000523:psychology; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003376:Counseling / Q000592:standards; D015140:Dementia, Vascular / Q000451:nursing* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
keywords: Alzheimer's disease; caregiver burden; vascular dementia