Effects of Early- and Late-Onset Alzheimer's Disease on Caregiver Burden

Abstract

Introduction: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia. Early-onset AD (EOAD) occurs when it affects someone under the age of 65, and many people diagnosed are in their 40s and 50s. Many studies in the literature examine the caregiver burden of people with late-onset AH (LOAD), and it is unclear whether the experience of caregiving differs according to the age of onset of AH. Aim: This study aimed to determine whether there is a difference in the caregiver burden of primary informal caregivers of community-dwelling patients with AD according to the age of onset of the disease. Methods: A comparative descriptive study design was used in this study. The sample comprised 109 people with AD (34 EOAD and 75 LOAD) and their caregivers. Sociodemographic characteristic questionnaires, the Caregiver Burden Inventory, the Mini-Mental State Examination, the Neuropsychiatric Inventory, Barthel’s Activities of Daily Living, and the Clinical Dementia Rating Scale were used. Descriptive statistics, t-tests, and chi-square were used to describe and analyze the data. Results: Caregivers of patients with EOAD had significantly higher scores for social burden than caregivers of patients with LOAD (t=3.156, p=0.002). Furthermore, caregivers of patients with EOAD experienced more developmental, physical, and total burden than caregivers of patients with LOAD. However, these differences were not statistically significant (p>0.05). Conclusion: Considering that there will be differences in the caregiver burden of AH according to the age of onset, it is necessary to offer services tailored to the needs of AD caregivers.