Self- reported and informal caregiver proxy-reported met needs in persons living with dementia are associated with lower health-related quality of life: a dyadic, cross-sectional study

Objective: This study examined the dyadic association of self and informal caregiver proxy-reported met needs in persons living with dementia on the health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Methods: A total of 237 persons with dementia and their caregivers were included from a previous observational study. HRQOL was assessed by the EuroQol-5D and the number of met needs by the Camberwell Assessment of Needs for the Elderly. The Actor-Partner Interdependence Model framework was used to analyze the effect of an individual’s self or proxy-reported met needs on their own HRQOL (actor effects), and an individual’s self or proxy-reported met needs on the other dyad member’s HRQOL (partner effects). Results: The number of self-reported met needs by persons living with dementia was negatively associated with their own HRQOL (actor effect b = −0.200, p < 0.001), and the HRQOL of informal caregivers (partner effect b = −0.114, p = 0.001). The number of proxy-reported met needs by informal caregivers was negatively associated with their own HRQOL (actor effect b = −0.105, p < 0.001) but not the person living with dementia’s HRQOL (-0.025, p = 0.375). Conclusion: Study findings suggest that both self-reported and informal caregiver proxy-reported met needs in persons living with dementia should be considered in research and practice because they have different implications for each dyad members’ HRQOL.