Mindfulness for Alzheimer Caregivers

Mindfulness Based Health Care (MBHC) Program for Caregivers in the Neuropsychiatric Disorders in Alzheimer Patients and Anxiety and Depression in Caregivers

Mindfulness Based Health Care (MBHC) includes meditation techniques to help caregivers of Alzheimer patients to be made more aware of their experience in the present moment. Half of the caregivers will learn the practice of mindfulness meditation once a week through 8 classes, and the other half will not receive any therapy. The primary purpose of this study is to explore the effects of this mindfulness program for caregivers on the neuropsychiatric symptoms in Alzheimer patients, as well as on anxiety and depression symptoms in their caregivers. Secondarily, to examine the effect of this program on cognitive function, daily activity living and quality of life in Alzheimer patients, as well as on the burden of caregiving, quality of life, psychological well-being, occupational balance, executive function and self-compassion in their caregivers.

Study Overview

• Status: Terminated
• Conditions: Neurodegenerative Diseases; Dementia; Alzheimer Disease
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Mindfulness Based Health Care (MBHC) Program

Detailed Description

Alzheimer's disease is a progressive brain disorder that involves the loss of the ability to live independently, functional capacity and safety. Thus, patients often suffer neuropsychiatric disorders and need help from another person to live every day. Due to the burden of caregiving, the main caregivers can have anxiety and depression symptoms. With this scenario, we will conduct this randomized controlled trial aimed to evaluate the effect of mindfulness program for caregiver's vs control group on: 1) neuropsychiatric disorders, cognitive function, daily activity living and quality of life in Alzheimer patients; 2) anxiety and depression symptoms, burden of caregiving, quality of life, psychological well-being, occupational balance, executive function and self-compassion in their caregivers.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 60
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Spain
  • Alicante
    • San Juan De Alicante, Alicante, Spain, 03550
      • Alicia Sánchez Pérez

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria of Caregivers:

• be a caregiver of Alzheimer disease patient
• age over 18 years
• Score Mini Mental State Examination ≥26 points

Inclusion Criteria of Patients:

• Score of Scale Global Deterioration from 3 to 7 points (inclusive)
• Alzheimer disease diagnostic
• Non-institutionalized

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patient or caregivers with central nervous system disease with a neurological alteration (acquired brain damage, epilepsy, traumatic brain injury, multiple sclerosis and other movement disorders).
• Patient or caregivers with current or past history of alcohol or drug abuse
• Patient or caregivers with visual or hearing impairment
• Patient or caregivers with serious psychiatric illness (depression, psychosis, schizophrenia)

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Double

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Control
Experimental: Mindfulness Based Health Care Program	Behavioral: Mindfulness Based Health Care (MBHC) Program; Mindfulness Based Health Care (MBHC) Program for Caregivers of Alzheimer's Disease Patients. The duration of this group was 8 weeks. The program included one session per week, with each session lasting 1 hour and 30 minutes

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Changes in Neuropsychiatric disorders of Alzheimer patients measured with Neuropsychiatric inventory	Neuropsychiatric inventory includes 12 neuropsychiatric symptom domains: delusions, hallucinations, agitation/aggression, dysphoria/depression, anxiety, euphoria/elation, apathy/indifference, disinhibition, irritability/lability, aberrant motor behaviors, nighttime behavioral disturbances, and appetite/eating disturbances. Neuropsychiatric manifestations within a domain are collectively rated by the caregiver in terms of both frequency (1 to 4) and severity (1 to 3), yielding a composite symptom domain score (frequency×severity). Frequency and severity rating scales have defined anchor points to enhance the reliability of caregiver responses. Caregiver distress is rated for each positive neuropsychiatric symptom domain on a scale anchored by scores of 0 (not distressing at all) and 5 (extremely distressing).	baseline, 8 weeks, 3 months after the 8 weeks
Changes in Anxiety and depression symptoms in Caregivers of Alzheimer patients measured with Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale	The Hospital Anxiety and Depression includes 14 items assessing anxiety (7-item) and depression (7-item), which are rated on a 4-point Likert-type (from 0 to 3). The scores in each subscale are computed by summing the corresponding items, with maximum scores of 21 for each subscale. A score of 0-7 is considered as normal, 8-10 as a borderline case, and 11-21 as a case (anxiety or depression)	baseline, 8 weeks, 3 months after the 8 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Changes in Cognitive Function of Alzheimer patients with Mini Mental State Examination	The Mini Mental State Examination is composed of 13 items to assess with scores (0,1,2,3,4,5) according answer. the main objective is to briefly assess the mental state and allow observe the degree of progression of cognitive status through the following areas: orientation, fixation, concentration and calculation, memory, language and construction.	baseline, 8 weeks, 3 months after the 8 weeks
Changes in Executive Function of Alzheimer patients with Frontal Assessment Battery	The FAB consists of 6 subtests that explore each of the processes controlled by the frontal lobes: 1) similarities (abstract reasoning/conceptualization); 2) lexical fluency (mental flexibility [i.e. self-organization, strategy and change]); 3) motor series (programming and motor planning); 4) conflicting instructions (sensitivity to interference); 5) Go-no-go test (inhibitory control and impulsiveness); and 6) prehension behavior (ability to inhibit a response to sensorial stimulation [i.e. environmental autonomy]). Higher scores of the test imply a better performance, and the total maximum score that can be obtained in the FAB is 18. The scoring is calculated by adding up the points for each test, which ranges from 0 to 3	baseline, 8 weeks, 3 months after the 8 weeks
Changes in Functional Capacity of Alzheimer patients with Disability Assessment for Dementia	The Disability Assessment for Dementia is composed by 40 items that assess 4 basic ADLs (BADL: hygiene, dressing, continence, and eating; 17 items), and 6 instrumental activities (preparing of meals, use of telephone, finance and correspondence, medication, and leisure and domestic activities; 23 items). The items also reflect cognitive dimensions of functional capacity in terms of executive functioning: Initiative (13 items), planning and organization (10 items), and execution (17 items)	baseline, 8 weeks, 3 months after the 8 weeks
Changes in Quality of Life of Alzheimer patients with Quality of Life in Alzheimer's Disease scale	The Quality of Life in Alzheimer's Disease scale uses 13 items a scale of 1-4 (poor, fair, good, or excellent) to rate a variety of life domains, including the patient's physical health, mood, relationships, activities, and ability to complete tasks. Total score range 13-52; higher scores indicate better Quality of life.	baseline, 8 weeks, 3 months after the 8 weeks
Change in Caregiver Burden of Caregivers of Alzheimer patients measured with Zarit Burden Interview	Zarit Burden Interview consists of 22 items scored in 5-point Likert scale from 0 (never) to 4 (nearly always), except for the final item on global burden, rated from 0 (not at all) to 4 (extremely). The total score ranges from 0 to 88 with higher scores indicating higher burden.	baseline, 8 weeks, 3 months after the 8 weeks
Change in Occupational Balance of Caregivers of Alzheimer patients measured with Occupational Balance Questionnaire.	Occupational Balance Questionnaire consists of 13 items scored in 6-point Likert scale from 0 (completely disagree) to 5 (completely agree). The total score ranges from 0 to 65 with higher scores higher occupational balance.	baseline, 8 weeks, 3 months after the 8 weeks
Change in Executive Function of Caregivers of Alzheimer patients measured with Frontal Assessment Battery	The FAB consists of 6 subtests that explore each of the processes controlled by the frontal lobes: 1) similarities (abstract reasoning/conceptualization); 2) lexical fluency (mental flexibility [i.e. self-organization, strategy and change]); 3) motor series (programming and motor planning); 4) conflicting instructions (sensitivity to interference); 5) Go-no-go test (inhibitory control and impulsiveness); and 6) prehension behavior (ability to inhibit a response to sensorial stimulation [i.e. environmental autonomy]). Higher scores of the test imply a better performance, and the total maximum score that can be obtained in the FAB is 18. The scoring is calculated by adding up the points for each test, which ranges from 0 to 3	baseline, 8 weeks, 3 months after the 8 weeks
Change in Quality of Life of Caregivers of Alzheimer patients measured with Study Questionnaire Short Form 36 Health Survey	The Study Questionnaire Short Form 36 Health Survey has eight scaled scores; the scoresare weighted sums of the questions in eachsection. Scores range from 0 -100 where lower scores =more disability and higher scores= less disability. This questionnaire include the follow subdimension: Vitality; Physical functioning; Bodily pain; General health perceptions; Physical role functioning; Emotional role functioning; Social role functioning; Mental health	baseline, 8 weeks, 3 months after the 8 weeks
Change in self-compassion of Caregivers of Alzheimer patients measured with Self-Compassion Scale	Self-Compassion Scale measures the three components of self-compassion: shared humanity (SCSCH), mindfulness (SCS-M) and self-kindness (SCS-SK). It consists of 26 items evaluated with a Likert-type scale from 1 to 5 (1=almost never; 5=almost always). The total score is obtained with the sum of all items and ranges from 26 to 130 points.	baseline, 8 weeks, 3 months after the 8 weeks
Change in well-being of Caregivers of Alzheimer patients measured with Ryff's Well-being Scale	Ryff's Well-being Scale measures psychological well-being. It is composed of 39 items that assess 6 dimensions: self-acceptance, autonomy, positive relationships with other people, personal growth, mastery of the environment, and purpose in life. The response format is a Likert-type scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 6 (strongly agree). The range of the total score is 39 to 234 points.	baseline, 8 weeks, 3 months after the 8 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Universidad Miguel Hernandez de Elche

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): February 2, 2019
• Primary Completion (Actual): March 13, 2020
• Study Completion (Actual): March 13, 2020

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 26, 2019
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 27, 2019
• First Posted (Actual): February 28, 2019

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 15, 2022
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 8, 2022
• Last Verified: April 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Mindfulness; Alzheimer; Caregivers; Anxiety and depression symptoms; neuropsychiatric disorders
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Neurocognitive Disorders; Dementia; Tauopathies; Alzheimer Disease; Neurodegenerative Diseases
• Other Study ID Numbers: Mind01UMH

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No