Results: Mean age of the PD patients was 48.2; mean
age of the caregivers was 46.6. Mean caregiver burden on
the ZBI was 14.1, which is considerably lower than that
reported among caregivers for patients with dementia or
stroke. Caregivers and patients both rated their general
health and vitality among the lowest of the eight dimensions
on the KDQOL-SF. In addition, patients scored lower
than a normative population in all dimensions and significantly
lower than caregivers in the dimensions of role
physical functioning, role emotional functioning, and social
functioning. Compared to national normative data for
their age group, caregivers scored substantially lower in
general health, vitality, and mental health.
¨ Conclusions: Patients on CAPD are at risk for social
role dysfunction, and their caregivers are at risk for decreased
mental health. Further research is needed to identify
interventions that can improve the HRQOL of CAPD
patients and their family caregivers.