@article{10902/26823,
year = {2022},
url = {https://hdl.handle.net/10902/26823},
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.},
publisher = {IOS Press},
publisher = {J Alzheimers Dis
. 2022;90(2):719-726},
title = {Quality of Life and the Experience of Living with Early-Stage Alzheimer's Disease},
author = {Villarejo-Galende, Alberto and García-Arcelay, Elena and Piñol-Ripoll, Gerard and Olmo-Rodríguez, Antonio del and Viñuela, Félix and Boada, Mercè and Franco-Macías, Emilio and Ibáñez de la Peña, Almudena and Riverol, Mario and Puig-Pijoan, Albert and Abizanda-Soler, Pedro and Arroyo, Rafael and Baquero-Toledo, Miquel and Feria-Vilar, Inmaculada and Balasa, Mircea and Berbel, Ángel and Rodríguez Rodríguez, Eloy Manuel and Vieira-Campos, Alba and García-Ribas, Guillermo and Rodrigo-Herrero, Silvia},
}