Relationship between quality of life and cognitive decline in dementia

Aims: We aimed to examine the association of cognitive decline with quality of life (QoL) in dementia compared to controls and to determine variables associated with QoL. Methods: Every subject was placed within a specific group depending on their designation by the Mini Mental State Examination and evaluated by the Alzheimer's Disease Related Quality of Life (ADRQL) and clinical assessments. Results: QoL for the mild dementia group was lower (p = 0.08) than that of controls. The very severe dementia group had a significantly lower QoL than the other dementia groups, which all had similar ADRQL scores. The only predictor of ADRQL scores was found to be the behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia. Conclusion: There is no direct relationship between cognitive decline and QoL. Copyright (C) 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel.