FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH QUALITY OF LIFE IN DEMENTIA: A CORRELATIONAL META-ANALYSIS

Quality of life (QoL) in dementia has been extensively investigated, but to date no comprehensive meta-analysis has synthesized evidence from quantitative studies to identify variables associated with QoL. In our systematic search we identified 306 articles that met inclusion criteria. There was sufficient data to analyse the association of 32 variables with self-rated and 36 with informant-rated QoL. Greater depression and more impaired basic activities of daily living were moderately associated with poorer self-rated and informant-rated QoL, although there was considerable heterogeneity. Carer depression and greater carer burden were also moderately associated with poorer informant-rated QoL. Basic demographic variables such as age, education, gender, and marital status explained only a very limited proportion of variance, with low levels of heterogeneity. Other associations were small or negligible. The finding that diverse variables make small contributions to QoL suggests there may be individual differences in what is important for QoL.