Reduced awareness of executive dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease is associated with increased carer burden

Previous research has shown that the presence of behavioral and psychological symptoms (BPSD) can increase the burden of care in dementia (e.g. Donaldson et al., 1998). Impaired executive functions, also called “dysexecutive syndrome” (Wilson et al., 1996), are frequent in dementia and can adversely affect social behavior in everyday life. Reduced awareness of cognitive deficits is associated with impaired executive functions, and may play a significant role in the onset and maintenance of BPSD. A recent paper by Davis and Tremont (2007) demonstrated that dysfunction of frontal systems is associated with increased burden of care in dementia, even after controlling for clinical severity and caregiver mood. In this letter, we report results that support this finding.