title: Self-Perceived Quality of Life Among Patients with Alzheimer's Disease: Two Longitudinal Models of Analysis.
abstract: The objective was to analyze the factors that influence self-perceived quality of life (QoL) in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), contrasting two different longitudinal models. A total of 127 patients were followed up over 24 months. The instruments applied were: Quality of Life in Alzheimer's Disease scale (QoL-AD), Geriatric Depression Scale-15, Anosognosia Questionnaire-Dementia, Disability Assessment in Dementia, Neuropsychiatric Inventory, and the Mini-Mental State Examination. Two models for grouping patients were tested: 1) Baseline score on the QoL-AD (QoL-Baseline), and 2) Difference in QoL-AD score between baseline and follow-up (QoL-Change). Generalized estimating equations were used to analyze longitudinal data, and multinomial regression analyses were performed. Over the follow-up period the QoL-Baseline model showed greater variability between groups (Wald χ2 = 172.3, p < 0.001) than did the QoL-Change model (Wald χ2  = 1.7, p = 0.427). In the QoL-Baseline model the predictive factors were greater depression (odds ratio [OR] = 1.20; 95% CI: 1.00- 1.45) and lower functional ability (OR = 0.92; 95% CI: 0.85- 0.99) for the Low QoL group (< 33 QoL-AD), and less depression (OR = 0.68; 95% CI: 0.52- 0.88), more anosognosia (OR = 1.07; 95% CI: 1.01- 1.13), and fewer neuropsychiatric symptoms (OR = 0.95; 95% CI: 0.91- 0.99) for the High-QoL group (>37 QoL-AD). The model based on baseline scores (QoL-Baseline) was better than the QoL-Change model in terms of identifying trajectories and predictors of QoL in AD.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Psychology, University of Barcelona, Spain.|Aging, Disability and Health Research Group, Biomedical Research Institute of Girona (IdIBGi), Catalonia, Spain.
authors.forename: Josep L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Conde-Sala
authors.affiliation: Aging, Disability and Health Research Group, Biomedical Research Institute of Girona (IdIBGi), Catalonia, Spain.
authors.forename: Oriol
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Turró-Garriga
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Psychology, University of Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Portellano-Ortiz
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Dementia Unit, Bellvitge University Hospital, Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain.
authors.forename: Vanesa
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Viñas-Diez
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Dementia Unit, Bellvitge University Hospital, Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain.
authors.forename: Jordi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gascón-Bayarri
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Dementia Unit, Bellvitge University Hospital, Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain.
authors.forename: Ramón
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Reñé-Ramírez
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D015233:Models, Statistical; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology; D012647:Self-Assessment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; analytic models; anosognosia; depression; longitudinal study; quality of life