Abstract
Objective:
Caregiver input is important in the assessment of depression in Alzheimer disease (AD), but depression and subjective burden can bias this input.
Methods:
In a 12-week, controlled, clinical trial of sertraline in depressed AD patients, authors correlated caregiver mood and subjective burden on several patient mood measures, incorporating varied degrees of caregiver input.
Results:
Caregiver variables accounted for up to 33% of the variance in patient mood ratings. Caregiver depression and burden decreased regardless of treatment assignment.
Conclusion:
Caregiver depression and burden affect their rating of AD patients' mood, but the majority of variance is due to patient characteristics.
Publication types
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Randomized Controlled Trial
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Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
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Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.
MeSH terms
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Affect
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Aged
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Alzheimer Disease / epidemiology
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Alzheimer Disease / psychology*
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Antidepressive Agents / therapeutic use*
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Bias
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Caregivers / psychology*
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Comorbidity
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Cost of Illness
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Depressive Disorder, Major / diagnosis*
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Depressive Disorder, Major / drug therapy*
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Depressive Disorder, Major / epidemiology
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Depressive Disorder, Major / psychology
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Double-Blind Method
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Humans
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Longitudinal Studies
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Outcome Assessment, Health Care / statistics & numerical data*
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Personality Assessment / statistics & numerical data*
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Psychometrics / statistics & numerical data
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Reproducibility of Results
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Sertraline / therapeutic use*
Substances
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Antidepressive Agents
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Sertraline