Mild Cognitive Impairment and Caregiver Burden: A 3-Year-Longitudinal Study

Abstract

Objectives: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is common, affecting 10%-35% of people over 65, and poses unique challenges for patients and their caregivers. Comparatively little research has examined caregiver burden in this population, with longitudinal research, in particular, lacking. We examined caregiver burden in a sample of people with MCI over 3 years.

Design: Three-year observational study.

Setting: Nine memory clinics in Australia.

Participants: One-hundred-and-eighty-five people with MCI and their caregivers.

Measurements: Measures of caregiver burden, cognition, function, neuropsychiatric symptoms, driving status, and medication use were completed with patients and their caregivers at regular intervals over a 3-year period.

Results: Between 21.1% and 29.5% of caregivers reported a clinically significant level of burden over the study. Patients' higher levels of neuropsychiatric symptoms, lower functional ability, and lack of driving ability, and caregivers' employment were associated with greater caregiver burden over time. Caregiver burden did not increase over time when controlling for patient and caregiver characteristics.

Conclusions: High levels of caregiver burden are present in a significant proportion of caregivers of people with MCI. Clinical characteristics of patients - including severity of neuropsychiatric symptoms and functional impairment - and the employment status of caregivers predict burden. Such characteristics may help identify caregivers at greater risk of burden to target for intervention.

Keywords: Carer burden; caregiver burden; driving; function; mild cognitive impairment.