TY - JOUR
T1 - Insight, cognition and quality of life in Alzheimer's disease
AU - Hurt, C. S.
AU - Banerjee, S.
AU - Tunnard, C.
AU - Whitehead, D. L.
AU - Tsolaki, M.
AU - Mecocci, P.
AU - Kloszewska, I.
AU - Soininen, H.
AU - Vellas, B.
AU - Lovestone, S.
PY - 2010/3
Y1 - 2010/3
N2 - Background The detrimental impact of dementia upon patient health-related quality of life (HRQL) is well established, as is the importance of improving HRQL. However, relatively little is known about the natural history of HRQL in dementia and those factors influencing it. This limited knowledge potentially restricts the evaluation of the efficacy of interventions designed to improve HRQL. One such area concerns the relationship between HRQL and patient insight. It remains unclear what impact, if any, impaired insight has upon a patient's HRQL. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between insight and HRQL in a sample of patients with Alzheimer's disease ( AD) and their carers.
Methods 256 patients with AD were recruited as part of AddNeuroMed, a multicentre European AD biomarkers study. Of these, 174 completed a quality-of-life measure in addition to a comprehensive battery of clinical and neuropsychological assessments.
Results Insight was found to be differentially related to patient perceptions of HRQL in mild and moderate dementia. Within moderate dementia, impaired insight was associated with better perceived HRQL. Conversely, cognition, but not insight, was associated with impaired HRQL in mild dementia. Insight was not found to be associated with carer perceptions of patient HRQL.
Conclusion Impairment of insight is associated with better HRQL in moderate dementia. This finding has implications for interventions which focus on increasing patient awareness and orientation, as impairment of insight appears to have a positive impact upon HRQL.
AB - Background The detrimental impact of dementia upon patient health-related quality of life (HRQL) is well established, as is the importance of improving HRQL. However, relatively little is known about the natural history of HRQL in dementia and those factors influencing it. This limited knowledge potentially restricts the evaluation of the efficacy of interventions designed to improve HRQL. One such area concerns the relationship between HRQL and patient insight. It remains unclear what impact, if any, impaired insight has upon a patient's HRQL. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between insight and HRQL in a sample of patients with Alzheimer's disease ( AD) and their carers.
Methods 256 patients with AD were recruited as part of AddNeuroMed, a multicentre European AD biomarkers study. Of these, 174 completed a quality-of-life measure in addition to a comprehensive battery of clinical and neuropsychological assessments.
Results Insight was found to be differentially related to patient perceptions of HRQL in mild and moderate dementia. Within moderate dementia, impaired insight was associated with better perceived HRQL. Conversely, cognition, but not insight, was associated with impaired HRQL in mild dementia. Insight was not found to be associated with carer perceptions of patient HRQL.
Conclusion Impairment of insight is associated with better HRQL in moderate dementia. This finding has implications for interventions which focus on increasing patient awareness and orientation, as impairment of insight appears to have a positive impact upon HRQL.
U2 - 10.1136/jnnp.2009.184598
DO - 10.1136/jnnp.2009.184598
M3 - Article
SN - 1468-330X
VL - 81
SP - 331
EP - 336
JO - Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry
JF - Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry
IS - 3
ER -