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Relationship with Caregivers slows
Alzheimer's
Newswise — A group of Utah State University
researchers and colleagues at Johns Hopkins
University, Duke University and Boston
University have demonstrated that the rate
of clinical progression of dementia may be
slowed by a close relationship with one’s
caregiver.
The findings will be published in the
September 2009 issue of “The Journals of
Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences
and Social Sciences” by Oxford Journals and
is available in electronic publication
through the journal Web site,
psychsocgerontology.oxfordjournals.org
.
The research study “Caregiver–Recipient
Closeness and Symptom Progression in
Alzheimer Disease. The Cache County Dementia
Progression Study,” started in 2002 and
monitored 167 participants with Alzheimer’s
disease for three years.
The study, funded by the National Institutes
of Health, measured the cognitive and
functional status of the participants and
the caregiver-reported relationship of the
participants.
It was found that higher levels of closeness
to ones caregiver were significantly
associated with a slower decline in both
cognitive and functional domains, especially
in persons with spouse caregivers.
USU Researchers involved in the study are
Maria Norton, associate professor of family,
consumer and human development and principal
investigator for the Cache County Memory
Study, the population wide project from
which persons with dementia were identified;
JoAnn Tschanz, associate professor of
psychology and director of the Cache County
Dementia Progression Study; and Kathy Piercy,
associate professor of family, consumer and
human development; and Chris Corcoran,
associate professor of mathematics and
statistics.
“This is the first study to demonstrate
that, in addition to medications that help
slow the progression of the disease, there
are non-pharmacologic factors in the
caregiving environment that may also help to
extend functional abilities and quality of
life for the person with dementia,” Norton
said.
“Considering the aging of the ‘Baby Boomer’
generation, finding ways to reduce risk for
development of dementia and slowing the rate
of decline in affected individuals are
urgent public health priorities.”
The researchers will now focus on finding
the kind of caregiver activities that may
promote the longevity and quality of brain
function for those suffering from dementia.
The new focus may lead to interventions that
will enhance the caregiving relationship and
help slow the decline caused by Alzheimer’s
disease.
USU has collaborated with Duke University
and Johns Hopkins University since 1994 when
it began the Cache County Memory Study.
The study is funded by the National
Institute on Aging and has followed an
initial cohort of more than 5,000 persons
aged 65 and older to study the genetic and
environmental factors that affect risk for
development of Alzheimer’s Disease and other
dementias.
Persons identified with dementia by the
Cache County Memory Study are then monitored
by the Cache County Dementia Progression
Study.
The Cache County Memory Study follows
individuals to the point of dementia onset
to study what factors affect risk of
developing the disease. The Dementia
Progression Study is focused on what factors
affect the rate of progression of the
disease once it has started.
“The extraordinary participation rate (90
percent of the entire eligible population)
and unusual longevity of the population in
Cache County, Utah (the U.S. county with the
highest longevity, based on 1990 Census),
have made our university and its setting an
ideal place for such a large-scale
epidemiologic study,” Norton said.
Norton has been involved in managing the
study since its inception in 1994 and has
been the local director of the project since
2001
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