Table 1.
Characteristics of Elder Caregivers and Dementia Patients, Overall and by Care-recipient Potentially Inappropriate Medication Use (n=566)
| Study Variables | Overall Sample | Care-Recipient PIM Use (n=187) | No Care-Recipient PIM Use (n=379) | Difference: P-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Predisposing characteristics | ||||
| Caregiver | ||||
| Age, mean (SD) | 74.2 (6.0) | 74.2 (6.1) | 74.2 (6.0) | 0.98 |
| Relationship to care-recipient, no. (%) | 0.01 | |||
| Spouse | 479 (84.6) | 169 (90.4) | 310 (81.8) | |
| Other relationship | 87 (15.4) | 18 (9.6) | 69 (18.2) | |
| Education, no. (%) | 0.65 | |||
| Less than high school degree | 134 (23.7) | 48 (25.7) | 86 (22.7) | |
| High school degree only | 150 (26.5) | 46 (24.6) | 104 (27.4) | |
| Some college | 282 (49.8) | 93 (49.7) | 189 (49.9) | |
| Race/ethnicity, no. (%) | 0.81 | |||
| White non-Hispanic | 380 (67.1) | 128 (68.5) | 252 (66.5) | |
| Black non-Hispanic | 96 (17.0) | 29 (15.5) | 67 (17.7) | |
| Hispanic | 90 (15.8) | 30 (16.0) | 60 (15.8) | |
| Care-recipient | ||||
| Age, mean (SD), y | 79.5 (6.6) | 79.1 (6.2) | 79.6 (6.8) | 0.32 |
| Sex, no. (%) | 0.59 | |||
| Male | 345 (61.0) | 111 (59.4) | 234 (61.7) | |
| Female | 221 (39.1) | 76 (40.6) | 145 (38.3) | |
| Enabling characteristics | ||||
| Caregiver perceived financial inadequacy, mean (SD) | 2.0 (1.0) | 2.0 (1.0) | 2.0 (1.0) | 0.71 |
| Household Income, no. (%) | 0.53 | |||
| <$20,000 | 222 (39.2) | 68 (36.4) | 154 (40.6) | |
| $20,00-39,999 | 218 (38.5) | 73 (39.0) | 145 (38.3) | |
| ≥ $40,000 | 126 (22.3) | 46 (24.6) | 80 (21.1) | |
| Caregiver employment status, no. (%) | 0.32 | |||
| Works full or part-time | 52 (9.2) | 14 (7.5) | 38 (10.0) | |
| Not working | 514 (90.8) | 173 (92.5) | 341 (90.0) | |
| Years caregiver has lived in United States, mean (SD) | 66.5 (16.6) | 67.4 (16.6) | 66.1 (16.6) | 0.39 |
| Caregiver depressive symptoms (CES-D), mean (SD) | 18.2 (11.1) | 18.4 (10.8) | 18.1 (11.3) | 0.74 |
| Caregiver number of chronic conditions, mean (SD) | 1.7 (1.2) | 1.8 (1.2) | 1.7 (1.2) | 0.13 |
| Caregiver perceived health, no. (%) | ||||
| Perceived health is fair/poor | 240 (42.4) | 85 (45.6) | 155 (40.9) | 0.30 |
| Perceived health is good/very good/excellent | 326 (57.6) | 102 (54.6) | 224 (59.1) | |
| Need characteristics – Care-recipient | ||||
| Count of ADL and IADL limitations, mean (SD) | 10.2 (3.1) | 10.0 (3.2) | 10.3 (3.0) | 0.35 |
| Mini-mental State Examination, mean (SD) | 12.9 (7.7) | 13.9 (7.7) | 12.4 (7.7) | 0.03 |
| Revised Memory/Behavior checklist, mean (SD) | 9.8 (3.8) | 10.1 (3.8) | 9.7 (3.8) | 0.26 |
| Medication Use in Past Month | ||||
| Care-recipient medication use | ||||
| Total number of medications, mean (SD) | 5.4 (3.3) | 6.9 (3.4) | 4.6 (3.0) | <.001 |
| Distribution of total medications, no. (%) | <.001 | |||
| 0-3 medications | 178 (31.5) | 27 (14.4) | 151 (39.8) | |
| 4-8 medications | 295 (52.1) | 106 (56.7) | 189 (49.9) | |
| 9 or more medications | 93 (16.4) | 54 (28.9) | 39 (10.3) | |
| Care-recipient PIM use, no. (%) | N/A | |||
| No PIM | 379 (67.0) | N/A | N/A | |
| ≥ 1 PIM | 187 (33.0) | N/A | N/A | |
| Caregiver medication use | ||||
| Total number of medications, mean (SD) | 4.4 (2.98) | 5.1 (3.1) | 4.0 (2.9) | <.001 |
| Distribution of total medications, no. (%) | <.001 | |||
| 0-3 medications | 243 (42.9) | 62 (33.2) | 181 (47.8) | |
| 4-8 medications | 271 (47.9) | 99 (52.9) | 172 (45.4) | |
| 9 or more medications | 52 (9.2) | 26 (13.9) | 26 (6.9) | |
| Caregiver PIM use, no. (%) | ||||
| No PIM | 343 (60.6) | 99 (52.9) | 244 (64.4) | 0.01 |
| ≥ 1 PIM | 223 (39.4) | 88 (47.1) | 135 (35.6) |
PIM, Potentially Inappropriate Medication ; SD, standard deviation; CG, Caregiver; ADL, Activities of Daily Living; IADL, Instrumental Activities of Daily Living; N/A, Not Applicable