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Background: spousal caregivers are usually of the same age as the dementia patient and therefore at risk of age-related cognitive decline. Suboptimal cognitive functioning in caregivers may have profound implications. Methods: fifty-four spousal caregivers of dementia patients from the Memory Clinic of the Academic Hospital Maastricht and the Regional Institute for Community Mental Health Care in the Netherlands were compared with 108 non-caregiving controls. Data were collected on patient and caregiver characteristics and caregiver cognitive functioning. Repeated measures statistical analyses were carried out to investigate the relationship between care giver cognitive functioning at baseline and patient behavioural problems and caregiver competence during 1 year of follow-up. Results: caregivers performed significantly worse on several cognitive domains compared with control subjects. Low performance on a verbal memory task was related to a decrease in caregiver subjective competence and an increase in patient hyperactivity. Conclusion: the results indicate that screening for cognitive impairment of spousal caregivers may be helpful, because suboptimal cognitive functioning may affect the ability to provide adequate care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: transnational and psychometrically appropriate versions of instruments used in the diagnosis of dementia are essential for comparing information between different countries. The Cambridge Examination for Mental Disorders of the Elderly incorporates a brief neuropsychological test battery, Cambridge Cognitive Examination (recently revised version), which provides objective data on performance across a number of cognitive domains. Objective: to harmonise the Cambridge Cognitive Examination between seven European countries. Method: 40 patients with probable or possible Alzheimer' s disease of each of the seven countries were administered the Cambridge Cognitive Examination. The Nurse Observation Scale for Geriatrics was used to assess concordance between cognitive and behavioural measures. Results: only small differences between the various Cambridge Cognitive Examination versions were found, and patterns of correlation between Cambridge Cognitive Examination and the Nurse Observation Scale for Geriatrics were consistent. Conclusion: these findings indicate that the harmonisation of the Cambridge Cognitive Examination was successful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]