Dyadic Comparison of Pain and Stress in Alzheimer's Disease and Caregivers.
Alison R Anderson, Juliana Souza-Talarico, Ishika Mahajan and 8 others
PMID 39632151WHAT IT FOUND
In five pairs of people with Alzheimer's disease and their caregivers, caregivers tended to report more pain and stress than patients, and patient pain moved with caregiver burden.
These small links do not show what causes what.
Key findings
01Across five dyads, caregivers tended to report higher pain, anxiety, stress, and hair cortisol than patients.
02Higher pain intensity and pain unpleasantness reported by patients over the past two weeks were linked to lower hair cortisol.
03Higher pain intensity and pain unpleasantness reported by patients were linked to higher caregiver burden.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study had only five dyads, so the patterns may not hold in other groups. It was exploratory and measured links at one time, so it cannot show that pain, stress, or caregiver burden caused anything. The sample was too small to examine sex, gender, or racial and ethnic differences in pain and stress. One patient provided a one-centimeter hair sample instead of three centimeters, which could have affected the cortisol result. The authors caution against drawing definite conclusions from these findings.
Declared interests
The paper is marked as supported by NIH extramural research. Dr. Karen Moss reported being a volunteer board member and board president for the African American Alzheimer's and Wellness Association and said no funds were received from the organization; all other authors declared no competing interests.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that Alzheimer's disease causes a blunted stress response or that caregiver pain causes burden. The study had only five pairs, was exploratory, and measured links at one time, so it cannot show cause.