Caregiver burden among family caregivers of patients with presenile dementia

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In the first year of our study, we compared presenile patients with frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) to patients with Alzheimer's. disease (AD) in order to understand their problems in relation to caregiving at home. Our results showed that the FTLD patients presented special home caregiving problems due to "going my way" behavior, impersistence, and impulsivity. The AD patients, on the other hand, were confused regarding how to go about their ADL and refused to cooperate, thus necessitating more care. Therefore, the problems from a home care standpoint were suggested to differ in terms of the type of dementia.In 2003,a more detailed investigation indicated that FTLD patients showed uncooperative attitudes regarding their ADL care. Also, the patients' abnormal eating behavior, stereotypic behavior, and disinhibition made home care more difficult. We, therefore, consider it crucial for caregivers to have thorough access to a wide range of symptom-specific information and to have the understanding and support of society as a whole.In 2004, we undertook a comparative survey of the caregiving situation of presenile dementia patients, senile dementia patients, and their respective caregivers. Compared to the senile group, the presenile group tended to receive less emotional support from health professionals and use fewer care services.In the final year of our study, we found that the caregiver burden for the senile group had associations with many variables involving the patients' illness or caregiving situation, while the care burden for the presenile group had a strong correlation with caregiver health issues.In light of the foregoing, the present study suggested the need for improving care services and providing the public with more information on presenile dementia, and at the same time lessening care burden by making direct physical and psychological care more avilable to caregivers.