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Impact of behavioural problems on spousal caregivers: a comparison between Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia
de Vugt ME, Riedijk SR, Aalten P, Tibben A, van Swieten JC, Verhey FR.. Dementia and geriatric cognitive disorders, 2006-05-04
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Background Behavioural changes are a key factor in distinguishing frontotemporal dementia (FTD) from Alzheimer's disease (AD), however, little is known about the impact of these changes on caregivers. The aim of this study was to compare caregivers' distress related to behavioural symptoms of AD and FTD. Methods 47 spouse caregivers of consecutively referred patients with AD and 27 spouse caregivers of patients with FTD participated in this study. Behavioural disturbances in the patient and caregivers' emotional reactions were measured with the Neuropsychiatric Inventory. Results Patients with FTD had significantly higher levels of agitation, apathy, disinhibition and aberrant motor behaviour than did patients with AD. High distress scores were found for disinhibition, depression and apathy in caregivers of FTD patients whereas caregivers of AD patients reported patient apathy, depression and anxiety as being severely distressing. Higher mean distress scores were found for disinhibition in the FTD group. Furthermore, caregivers of FTD patients reported higher levels of general burden, and felt less competent than AD caregivers. Conclusions Caregivers of FTD patients were overall more distressed by the behaviour of their partners than were the caregivers of AD patients. Findings from this study underscore the importance of differentiating between diagnostic groups and specific behavioural domains when focusing on caregiver reactions to problem behaviour.
Key findings
- Results Patients with FTD had significantly higher levels of agitation, apathy, disinhibition and aberrant motor behaviour than did patients with AD.
- Conclusions Caregivers of FTD patients were overall more distressed by the behaviour of their partners than were the caregivers of AD patients.
Why it matters
Comparing 47 spouse caregivers of Alzheimer's patients with 27 spouse caregivers of frontotemporal dementia patients, those caring for frontotemporal dementia patients reported higher general burden and felt less competent. Caregivers of frontotemporal dementia patients were overall more distressed by their partner's behavior, highlighting the need to consider diagnosis when supporting caregivers.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 45/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Dementia and geriatric cognitive disorders) |
| Journal's citation record | 1 / 4 | Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders: journal h-index 149 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2006 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 244 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 11.1 citations a year over 22 year(s) since 2006 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 6.3× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 13 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 18 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Frans R.J. Verhey: h-index 111 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Erasmus MC: institution h-index 1,321 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 4 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 16679763) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 45 / 100 | — |
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Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
de Vugt, M. E., Riedijk, SR., Aalten, P., Tibben, A., van Swieten, J. C., & Verhey, F. R. (2006). Impact of behavioural problems on spousal caregivers: a comparison between Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia. Dementia and geriatric cognitive disorders. https://doi.org/10.1159/000093102
Vancouver
de Vugt ME, Riedijk SR, Aalten P, Tibben A, van Swieten JC, Verhey FR. Impact of behavioural problems on spousal caregivers: a comparison between Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia. Dementia and geriatric cognitive disorders. 2006. doi:10.1159/000093102. PMID: 16679763.
BibTeX
@article{devugt2006-16679763,
author = {de Vugt, M. E. and Riedijk, SR. and Aalten, P. and Tibben, A. and van Swieten, J. C. and Verhey, F. R.},
title = {{Impact of behavioural problems on spousal caregivers: a comparison between Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia}},
journal = {Dementia and geriatric cognitive disorders},
year = {2006},
doi = {10.1159/000093102},
pmid = {16679763},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1159/000093102}
}
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