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Table 1 Characteristics of patients (randomized at baseline, n = 96)

From: Non-pharmacological, multicomponent group therapy in patients with degenerative dementia: a 12-month randomized, controlled trial

Characteristics

Intervention group

(n = 50)

Control group

(n = 46)

Total

(n = 96)

Test for group differences

Test for nursing home differencesf

    

χ2

te

PValue

χ2

PValue

Age, mean (SD)

84.5 (4.5)

85.7 (5.7)

85.1 (5.1)

 

1.19

0.24

4.91

0.30

Women, no. (%)

44 (88.0)

36 (78.3)

80 (83.3)

1.64

 

0.20

5.84

0.21

Educational attainment, no. (%)

   

3.85

 

0.43

14.08

0.01

No school completed

5 (10.9)

9 (20.9)

14 (15.7)

     

Elementary/secondary school

39 (84.7)

30 (69.8)

69 (77.5)

     

University preparatory

2 (4.3)

3 (7.0)

5 (5.6)

     

University

0 (0.0)

1 (2.3)

1 (1.1)

     

Marital status, no. (%)

   

5.25

 

0.15

2.62

0.62

Married

4 (8.0)

9 (19.6)

13 (13.5)

     

Widowed

40 (80.0)

34 (73.9)

74 (77.1)

     

Divorced

0 (0)

1 (2.2)

1 (1)

     

Single

6 (12.0)

2 (4.3)

8 (8.3)

     

MMSE mean (SD)

15.4 (5.4)

13.8 (5.4)

14.6 (5.4)

 

-1.45

0.15

1.68

0.79

NOSGER subscale mood, mean (SD)

10.6 (3.1)

9.9 (3.0)

10.3 (3.1)

 

-1.07

0.29

5.03

0.29

Care level a , no. (%)

   

4.63

 

0.10

4.56

0.34

None

7 (14.0)

2 (4.3)

9 (9.4)

     

1

27 (54.0)

21 (45.7)

48 (50.0)

     

2

16 (32.0)

23 (50.0)

39 (40.6)

     

3

0 (0)

0 (0)

0 (0)

     

Charlson comorbidity index b , mean (SD)

1.1 (1.6)

1.1 (1.6)

1.1 (1.4)

 

-0.31

0.76

7.35

0.12

Use of anti-dementia med. c , no. (%)

9 (18.0)

4 (8.7)

13 (13.5)

1.80

 

0.18

5.48

0.24

Medication score d , mean (SD)

-1.4 (1.7)

-1.5 (1.7)

-1.5 (1.7)

 

-0.11

0.91

0.93

0.92

ADAS-Cog, mean (SD)

33.5 (13.1)

38.0 (14.4)

35.6 (13.8)

 

1.60

0.11

12.11

0.02

E-ADL test, mean (SD)

25.9 (5.4)

23.7 (5.9)

24.7 (5.7)

 

-1.62

0.10

9.69

0.05

  1. Abbreviations: MMSE, Mini-Mental State Examination; NOSGER, Nurses' Observation Scale for Geriatric Patients; ADAS-Cog, Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale, subscale cognition; E-ADL test, Erlangen Test of Activities of Daily Living.
  2. aThe care level describes the extent to which nursing care is needed: none (no needs), 1 (moderate needs), 2 (high needs), and 3 (very high needs). This scale is used in Germany to establish eligibility for nursing care benefits. Put simply, individuals who need regular assistance with activities of everyday living and household chores for a daily average of at least 1.5 hours are assigned to level 1, those who need at least 3 hours of assistance to level 2, and those who need 5 or more hours of assistance to level 3. The classification is conducted by an organization formed by the long-term care insurance funds, which are statutory entities that administer the system of long-term care insurance in Germany. bCharlson comorbidity index: Effect of comorbidities (that is, in addition to dementia) on mortality rate. A condition is assigned a score according to the mortality risk associated with it. One-year mortality increases from 12% (index = 0) to 85% (index ≥ 5) as the score increases. cAnti-dementia medication during the intervention period: intervention group: 3× acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors, 7× memantine, 1× both; control group: 2× AChE inhibitors, 2× memantine. dMedication score: mean value of all medications taken by the patient. It was calculated using all prescribed medications at baseline, including anti-dementia drugs. To do so, two experts from the University of Erlangen's Department of Clinical Pharmacology rated all medications in terms of their sedating or stimulating effect or side effect using a 5-step scale: -2 (very sedating), -1 (sedating), 0 (neither sedating nor stimulating), +1 (stimulating), +2 (very stimulating). edf = 94. fwith Kruskal-Wallis or Pearson χ2 with df = 5.
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BMC Medicine

ISSN: 1741-7015

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