Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia: the complex relationship between diagnosis and caregiver burden.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether patient dementia diagnostic type (Alzheimer's Disease/Vascular Dementia) is associated with caregiver burden. A retrospective case review was conducted of patient and caregiver information collected at a university-based dementia clinic. Results showed that primary dementia diagnosis was not associated with burden.

Health service utilization by Alzheimer's disease patients: a 2-year follow-up of primary versus subspecialty care.

All dementia patients and their caregivers who had received a university-based comprehensive evaluation and a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease during 1997 (N = 80) were identified. Of the original cohort, 48.8% (n = 39) were able to be contacted approximately 2 years after their initial assessment, and the caregivers were the informants for this follow-up.