Advances in biomarker research allow precise diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). Communicating this diagnosis may reduce uncertainty and aid care planning but can also increase anxiety, distress, or anticipatory burden among care partners.
Objective
To characterise coping strategies used by caregivers of patients recently diagnosed with MCI due to AD and examine their evolution.
Methods
Thirty caregivers of patients with MCI due to AD were recruited from a memory clinic, assessed at baseline, and followed over 18 months. Caregiver personality, burden, depressive and anxiety symptoms, perceived relationship closeness, and distress related to patient neuropsychiatric symptoms were also assessed at baseline. Coping was assessed longitudinally using the Brief COPE, grouping its 14 subscales into problem-focused, emotion-focused, and dysfunctional coping.
Results
Caregivers used problem-focused (3.37 ± 1.02) and emotion-focused (2.91 ± 0.86) more often than dysfunctional coping (1.13 ± 0.56). Dysfunctional coping was associated with lower perceived relationship closeness, higher burden, and greater distress related to neuropsychiatric symptoms, while emotion-focused coping was inversely associated with anxiety and depression. Trends suggested associations between emotion-focused coping and extraversion, and between problem-focused coping and conscientiousness. Coping patterns remained stable over time. Caregivers reported elevated psychological distress.
Conclusion
Caregivers of patients with MCI due to AD experience considerable psychological distress but appear to rely primarily on adaptive coping strategies. The stability of coping patterns suggests that coping responses may begin to consolidate early in the caregiving trajectory. Given the exploratory nature of our study, further longitudinal research is needed.
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