P4-203: The effect of cognitive function and depressive mood on the activity of daily living and quality of life in Chinese elderly patients with Alzheimer’s disease

Abstract

Patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) are characterized by cognitive decline and depressive mood, resulting in deterioration of their activity of daily living (ADL) and quality of life (QoL). However, how their ADL and QoL are affected have been greatly ignored and not been emphasized in Hong Kong. To validate the assessment “Chinese Version of Quality of Life in Alzheimer's Disease” (CQoL–AD) and to evaluate the effect of cognitive function and depressive mood on ADL and QoL in Chinese patients with AD. This is a cross–sectional study. 121 Chinese AD patients and their caregivers were recruited from three clinical settings by purposeful sampling. The cognitive function was measured by the Cantonese version of Mini Mental State Examination (CMMSE); the depressive mood was measured by the Chinese version of Geriatric Depressive Scale (CGDS); the ADL was measured by the Chinese version of Disability Assessment for Dementia (DAD) and the QoL was measured by the Chinese version of Quality of Life in Alzheimer's Disease (CQoL–AD). Internal consistency, test–retest reliability and inter–rater reliability of CQoL–AD measure from patient report were 0.917, 0.964 and 0.993 respectively, while those from caregiver report were 0.746, 0.966 and 0.996 respectively. Both CQoL–AD scores from patient and caregiver report were not correlated with CMMSE score but had a moderate negative correlation with the CGDS score (r=–0.668 and r=–0.313 respectively). The mean CQoL–AD scores from both patient and caregiver reports were significantly higher in the non–depressed group (34.2 and 31.0 respectively) than in the depressed group (23.8 and 28.9 respectively). The CDAD score was positively correlated with CMMSE score (r=0.652) and negatively correlated with CGDS score (r=– 0.191). The mean CDAD score was significantly higher for those with mild AD (37.8) than those with severe AD (20.6). The mean CDAD score was significantly higher for those non–depressed AD patients (30.2) than those depressed AD patients (26.9). The CQoL–AD is a promising instrument in Chinese AD patients. AD patients with higher cognitive function and lesser depressive symptoms had better performance of ADL than those with lower cognitive function and greater depressive symptoms.