Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of the 108 older participants and their 43 caregivers.
| Variables | Intervention (n = 54) |
Control (n = 54) |
P value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean (SD) | Perc. (n) | Mean (SD) | Perc. (n) | ||
| Older participants | |||||
| Age, years | 79.8 (6.4) | 80.6 (7.1) | 0.543 | ||
| Sex: female | 63 (34) | 69 (37) | 0.543 | ||
| Living alone | 50 (27) | 44 (24) | 0.780 | ||
| Education, years | 8.8 (5) | 8.5 (4.4) | 0.698 | ||
| BADL scorea | 4.6 (1.6) | 4.4 (1.5) | 0.623 | ||
| IADL scoreb | 4.6 (2.9) | 4.3 (2.7) | 0.495 | ||
| Dependence in taking medications | 35 (19) | 44 (24) | 0.326 | ||
| CIRS m scorec | 4.2 (1.8) | 4.1 (1.6) | 0.610 | ||
| CIRS s scored | 1.9 (0.5) | 1.9 (0.3) | 0.543 | ||
| MMSE scoree | 24.1 (6.3) | 23.7 (6.3) | 0.726 | ||
| 5-item GDS scoref | 2.4 (1.3) | 2.0 (1.3) | 0.162 | ||
| Cornell scale scoreg | 13.4 (5.2) | 15.0 (5.1) | 0.344 | ||
| MNA SF scoreh | 10.4 (2.1) | 9.7 (2.4) | 0.132 | ||
| Drugs daily, n | 5.5 (2.6) | 5.4 (2.6) | 0.854 | ||
| Drug administrations daily, n | 6.7 (3.6) | 6.4 (3.1) | 0.668 | ||
| Any adherence errori | 70 (38) | 67 (36) | 0.679 | ||
| Any intentional adherence error | 41 (22) | 41 (22) | 1.000 | ||
| Therapy suspended | 33 (18) | 26 (14) | 0.399 | ||
| Therapy never taken | 11 (6) | 19 (10) | 0.417† | ||
| Therapy never stopped | 2 (1) | 13 (7) | 0.060† | ||
| Any unintentional adherence error | 52 (28) | 37 (20) | 0.121 | ||
| Caregivers | (n = 19) | (n = 24) | |||
| Age, years | 62.8 (16) | 58.1 (18.9) | 0.380 | ||
| Education, years | 7.5 (3.3) | 7.6 (3.8) | 0.955 | ||
| CBI scorel | 35.2 (22.1) | 37.1 (20.9) | 0.766 | ||
† Statistical analysis was performed by using Fisher's exact test.
a BADL = Basic Activities of Daily Living; normal score 6/6. Lower scores indicate worse functional status.
b IADL = Instrumental Acitivities of Daily Living; normal score 8/8. Lower scores indicate worse functional status.
c CIRS m = Cumulative Illness Rating Scale morbidity. Score range 0-13; lower scores indicate lower morbidity.
d CIRS s = Cumulative Illness Rating Scale severity. Score range 1-5; lower scores indicate less severe multiple pathology.
e MMSE = Mini Mental State Examination. Score range 0-30. Scores are corrected for age and education. Lower scores indicate worse cognitive function.
f GDS = Geriatric Depression Scale. Score range 0-5. Higher scores indicate worse emotional status. This variable was analysed only in the 68 participants (34 per group) without cognitive impairment.
g Score range 0-38, higher scores indicate worse emotional status. This variable was analysed only in the 40 participants (20 per group) suffering from cognitive impairment (i.e. MMSE score < 24 out of 30 after correction for age and education).
h MNA SF = Mini Nutritional Assessment Short Form. Score range 0-14. Lower scores indicate higher risk of malnutrition.
i The sum of any intentional and any unintentional errors is over 100% because we found both kinds of errors in 18 cases: 12 cases belonging to the intervention group and 6 cases belonging to the control group.
l CBI = Caregiver Burden Inventory. Score range 0-96, higher scores indicate greater distress of the caregiver.