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Multicenter Study
. 2022;90(2):719-726.
doi: 10.3233/JAD-220696.

Quality of Life and the Experience of Living with Early-Stage Alzheimer's Disease

Alberto Villarejo-Galende  1   2 , Elena García-Arcelay  3 , Gerard Piñol-Ripoll  4 , Antonio Del Olmo-Rodríguez  5 , Félix Viñuela  6 , Mercè Boada  2   7 , Emilio Franco-Macías  8 , Almudena Ibañez de la Peña  9 , Mario Riverol  10 , Albert Puig-Pijoan  11 , Pedro Abizanda-Soler  12 , Rafael Arroyo  13 , Miquel Baquero-Toledo  14 , Inmaculada Feria-Vilar  15 , Mircea Balasa  16 , Ángel Berbel  17 , Eloy Rodríguez-Rodríguez  18 , Alba Vieira-Campos  19 , Guillermo García-Ribas  1 , Silvia Rodrigo-Herrero  1 , Ángeles Terrancle  3 , Daniel Prefasi  3 , Alberto Lleó  2   1 , Jorge Maurino  3
Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Quality of Life and the Experience of Living with Early-Stage Alzheimer's Disease

Alberto Villarejo-Galende et al. J Alzheimers Dis. 2022.

Abstract

Background: There is a need to better understand the experience of patients living with Alzheimer's disease (AD) in the early stages.

Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate the perception of quality of life in patients with early-stage AD.

Methods: A multicenter, non-interventional study was conducted including patients of 50-90 years of age with prodromal or mild AD, a Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score ≥22, and a Clinical Dementia Rating-Global score (CDR-GS) of 0.5.-1.0. The Quality of Life in Alzheimer 's Disease (QoL-AD) questionnaire was used to assess health-related quality of life. A battery of self-report instruments was used to evaluate different psychological and behavioral domains. Associations between the QoL-AD and other outcome measures were analyzed using Spearman's rank correlations.

Results: A total of 149 patients were included. Mean age (SD) was 72.3 (7.0) years and mean disease duration was 1.4 (1.8) years. Mean MMSE score was 24.6 (2.1). The mean QoL-AD score was 37.9 (4.5). Eighty-three percent (n = 124) of patients had moderate-to-severe hopelessness, 22.1% (n = 33) had depressive symptoms, and 36.9% (n = 55) felt stigmatized. The quality of life showed a significant positive correlation with self-efficacy and negative correlations with depression, emotional and practical consequences, stigma, and hopelessness.

Conclusion: Stigma, depressive symptoms, and hopelessness are frequent scenarios in AD negatively impacting quality of life, even in a population with short disease duration and minimal cognitive impairment.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; amyloid; biomarkers; cerebrospinal fluid; magnetic resonance imaging; tau proteins; white matter hyperintensities; white matter lesions.

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Conflict of interest statement

Authors’ disclosures available online (https://www.j-alz.com/manuscript-disclosures/22-0696r1).

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Quality of Life in Alzheimer’s Disease Scale domains.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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