HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Google Scholar Articles by Samus, Q. M. Articles by Lyketsos, C. G. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Samus, Q. M. Articles by Lyketsos, C. G.

Correlates of Caregiver-Rated Quality of Life in Assisted Living: The Maryland Assisted Living Study

¹ The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.
² The Copper Ridge Institute, Sykesville, Maryland.
³ University of California–San Francisco School of Medicine.

Address correspondence to Quincy Miles Samus, MS, 550 North Broadway, Suite 201, Baltimore, MD 21205. E-mail: qmiles{at}jhmi.edu

We used a cross-sectional study to examine the correlates of caregiver-rated quality of life (QOL) in 198 randomly selected residents from a stratified random sample of 22 assisted living facilities in central Maryland. We measured QOL by using the Alzheimer's Disease-Related Quality of Life Questionnaire. In general, despite cognitive impairment, residents in assisted living were rated as having a high QOL. In a multivariate regression, we found that nonmood neuropsychiatric symptoms were the strongest correlate of QOL, explaining 37% of the variance. Depressive symptoms, functional dependence, marital status, and cognition also contributed to the model, but only minimally. Because of the strong association of neuropsychiatric symptoms with QOL, special attention should be given to their recognition and amelioration.