Objective: To study which variables are associated with quality of life (QOL) in persons with dementia (PWD) living in nursing homes (NHs).
Methods: A cross-sectional study included 661 PWD living in NH. To measure QOL the quality of life in late-stage dementia scale (QUALID) was applied. Other scales were: the clinical dementia rating scale (CDR), physical self-maintenance scale (PSMS), and neuropsychiatric inventory questionnaire (NPI-Q).
Results: The patients' mean age was: 86.9 (SD 7.7), 472 (71.4%) were women. Of all, 22.5% had CDR 1, 33.6% had CDR 2, and 43.9% had CDR 3. The mean PSMS score was 18.2 (SD 5.0), 43.1% lived in special care units, 56.9% in regular units. In a linear regression analysis NPI-affective score (β = 0.360, p-value < 0.001), NPI-agitation score (β = 0.268, p-value < 0.001), PSMS total score (β = 0.181, p-value < 0.001), NPI-apathy (β = 0.144, p-value < 0.001), NPI psychosis (β = 0.085, p-value 0.009), CDR sum of boxes score (β = 0.081, p-value 0.026) were significantly associated with QUALID total score (explained variance 44.5%).
Conclusion: Neuropsychiatric symptoms, apathy, severity of dementia, and impairment in activities in daily living are associated with reduced QOL in NH patients with dementia.
Keywords: dementia; neuropsychiatric symptoms; nursing home; psychotropic drugs; quality of life.