A STUDY FOR COMPARISON OF CAREGIVER BURDEN AND BEHAVIORAL AND PSYCHOTIC SYMPTOMS IN FRONTOTEMPORAL DEMENTIA AND ALZHEIMER’S DEMENTIA

Abstract

Background:  Dementia is a syndrome that results in the progressive deterioration of cortical functioning including comprehension, memory and thinking. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia accounting for 50-75% and Front temporal dementia (FTD) around 5-10% of dementia cases. Behavioral and psychological symptoms (BPSD) form a major part of the presentation of the dementia patients at psychiatric clinic and play a crucial role in caregiver distress which in turn is a major determinant of welfare of dementia patients in society.

Objective:  Present study is to compare care giver burden and BPSD in patients with FTD and AD.

Method:  We compared 41 patients’, of which 15 of FTD and 26 of AD with respect to the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI), Hindi Mental State Examination (HMSE) and Zarit Burden Inventory (ZBI) at SMS Medical College, Jaipur.

Results: FTD patients obtained a significantly higher NPI behavioral score And ZBI than AD patients and mean value of HMSE is higher in FTD than AD. Significant positive correlation between NPI and ZBI is observed in both groups. Significant positive correlation between HMSE and ZBI is found in FTD obtained,

Conclusion: More behavioral problem in FTD makes it difficult for patient’s caregiver to manage patients at home this leads to rapid institutionalization, although severity of dementia is less.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease, Front temporal dementia, BPSD, Caregiver Burden