Table 1.
Demographic and clinical characteristics of users and nonusers of home help services during the study (n = 880)
| Variable | Users of home help services (n = 332/38%) | Nonusers of home help services (n = 548/62%) | P |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
||
| n/% | n/% | ||
| Female sex | 260/78% | 294/54% | <0.001 |
| Carrier of APOE ɛ4 allele (n = 860) | 228/71% | 361/67% | 0.288 |
| Solitary living at baseline | 212/64% | 91/17% | <0.001 |
| Antihypertensives/cardiac therapy | 131/39% | 211/39% | 0.831 |
| NSAIDs/acetylsalicylic acid | 104/31% | 154/28% | 0.322 |
| Antidepressants | 102/31% | 113/21% | 0.001 |
| Antipsychotics | 25/8% | 15/3% | 0.001 |
| Anxiolytics/sedatives/hypnotics | 56/17% | 70/13% | 0.112 |
| Mean ± SD (range) | Mean ± SD (range) | P | |
|
| |||
| Estimated age at onset, years | 73.6 ± 7.0 (48–87) | 71.1 ± 7.4 (45–87) | <0.001 |
| Age at first assessment, years | 76.9 ± 6.5 (52–88) | 74.0 ± 7.1 (47–88) | <0.001 |
| Education, years | 9.1 ± 2.2 (7–17) | 9.6 ± 2.6 (7–17) | 0.002 |
| MMSE score at baseline | 20.7 ± 3.8 (10–26) | 21.7 ± 3.7 (10–26) | <0.001 |
| IADL score at baseline | 17.5 ± 5.4 (8–31) | 15.3 ± 5.5 (8–29) | <0.001 |
| PSMS score at baseline | 8.2 ± 2.7 (6–21) | 7.2 ± 1.8 (6–16) | <0.001 |
| Number of medications at baseline | 3.2 ± 2.6 (0–12) | 2.6 ± 2.2 (0–10) | 0.002 |
| Mean dose of ChEI during the follow-up period | |||
| Donepezil (n = 518) | 6.9 ± 1.8 (2.8–9.4) | 6.9 ± 1.7 (2.8–9.4) | 0.977 |
| Rivastigmine (n = 198) | 6.2 ± 2.0 (2.5–10.5) | 6.1 ± 2.2 (2.2–10.5) | 0.835 |
| Galantamine (n = 164) | 15.8 ± 3.3 (8.0–21.5) | 16.4 ± 3.7 (8.0–22.0) | 0.297 |
Abbreviations: APOE, apolipoprotein E; ChEI, cholinesterase inhibitor; IADL, Instrumental Activities of Daily Living scale; MMSE, Mini-Mental State Examination; NSAIDs, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; PSMS, Physical Self-Maintenance Scale; SD, standard deviation.