INTRODUCTION Maintaining quality of life (QoL) has been identified as the primary goal of care services for person living with dementia (PLWD). METHODS A secondary analysis was conducted on five rounds of the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) over 4 years. A generalized estimating equation (GEE) was used to examine the prediction of relationship type on older adults' QoL through four domains: mental health, general health, functional limitations, and pain. RESULTS older adults cared for by an adult-child or multiple caregivers predicted increased risk for functional limitations after adjustment for their socio-demographic and dementia status (IRR = 1.53, CI [1.26, 1.86]; IRR = 1.36, CI [1.14, 1.61], respectively). The interaction between the relationship type and education was significant. Older adults with a high school education or below, who were cared for by an adult child, had a significantly higher risk of increasing functional limitations over 4 years compared to those cared for by a spouse/partner (contrast = .50, P = .01, 95% CI [.07, .93]; contrast=.52, P = .03, 95% CI [.03, 1.02]; respectively). Similarly, older adults with a high school education, who were cared for by multiple caregivers, also experienced a significantly higher risk of increasing functional limitations than those cared for by a spouse/partner (contrast = .44, P = .03, 95% CI [.02, .85]). CONCLUSION Our findings provide evidence of the significant contribution of relationship type on PLWD's QoL changes over time. They also help to prioritize resource allocation while addressing PLWD's demands by socio-demographics such as education level.

中文翻译：

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随着时间的推移，护理对象关系类型对社区居住的痴呆症老年人生活质量的影响。

简介 维持生活质量 (QoL) 已被确定为痴呆症患者 (PLWD) 护理服务的首要目标。方法 对 4 年来的五轮国家健康和老龄化趋势研究 (NHATS) 进行了二次分析。广义估计方程（GEE）用于通过四个领域检查关系类型对老年人生活质量的预测：心理健康、一般健康、功能限制和疼痛。结果 由成人儿童或多位照顾者照顾的老年人在调整其社会人口统计和痴呆状况后预测功能限制的风险会增加（IRR = 1.53，CI [1.26，1.86]；IRR = 1.36，CI [1.14，1.61] ]， 分别）。关系类型与教育之间的交互作用显着。与由配偶/伴侣照顾的老年人相比，由成年子女照顾的具有高中或以下教育程度的老年人在 4 年内出现功能限制增加的风险显着更高（对比 = .50，P = . 01，95% CI [.07，.93]；对比度=.52，P = .03，95% CI [.03，1.02]；分别）。同样，与由配偶/伴侣照顾的老年人相比，由多名照顾者照顾的受过高中教育的老年人，其功能限制增加的风险也显着更高（对比 = .44，P = .03，95% CI [.02, .85]）。结论 我们的研究结果证明了关系类型对 PLWD 的生活质量随时间变化的显着贡献。它们还有助于确定资源分配的优先顺序，同时满足 PLWD 按社会人口特征（例如教育水平）的需求。