Using the Apriori Algorithm to Explore Caregivers’ Depression by the Combination of the Patients with Dementia and Their Caregivers

Figures & data

Table 1 Demographic Variables for PLWD

Variables		Frequency	Percentage	Data Type
Gender	Male	413	37.2	1
	Female	698	62.8	0
Age	<65 years old	55	5.0	1
	65–74 years old	166	14.9	2
	75–84 years old	498	44.8	3
	≥85 years old	392	35.3	4
Type of dementia	Alzheimer’s disease	576	51.8	1
	Vascular dementia	242	21.8	2
	Mixed dementia	50	4.5	3
	Lewy body Disease	28	2.5	4
	Parkinson’s disease	51	4.6	5
	Alcohol related dementia	2	0.2	6
	Frontotemporal dementia	20	1.8	7
	Others	142	12.8	8
CDR	Very mild dementia	401	36.1	0
	Mild dementia	451	40.6	1
	Moderate dementia	184	16.6	2
	Severe dementia	75	6.8	3
Walking ability	Independent	676	60.8	0
	Walker or cane	304	27.4	1
	Wheelchair	121	10.9	2
	Bedridden	10	0.9	3
Mood symptoms (multiple choice)	Pathological crying or laughing	42	3.8	1: with the symptom; and 0: without the symptom
	Phobia	7	0.6
	Dysthymia	198	17.8
	Depression	135	12.2
	Anxiety	79	7.1
	Worry	58	5.2
	Anger	189	17.0
	Irritability	116	10.4
	Emotional Liability	116	10.4
	Apathy	46	4.1
Behavioral symptoms (multiple choice)	Agitation	39	3.5
	Screaming	0	0
	Curse	32	2.9
	Akathisia	30	2.7
	Wandering	15	1.4
	Pacing	0	0
	Nighttime behavior	80	7.2
	Akinesia	50	4.5
	Shadowing	10	0.9
	Aggression (verbal/body)	49	4.4
	Aberrant motor behavior (stereotype)	22	2.0
	Disinhibition	0	0
Psychological symptoms (multiple choice)	Delusion	223	20.1
	Hallucination	142	12.8
	Misidentification	74	6.7

Abbreviation: CDR, clinical dementia rating.

Table 2 Demographic Variables for Caregivers

Variables		Frequency	Percentage	Data Type
Age	<50 years old	274	24.7	1
	50–59 years old	391	35.2	2
	60–69 years old	218	19.6	3
	≥70 years old	228	20.5	4
Relation to the patient	Spouse	290	26.1	1
	Partner	3	0.3	2
	Child	619	55.7	3
	Brothers/sisters	8	0.7	4
	Other relatives	191	17.2	5
Employment	Unemployed or retired	512	46.1	0
	Employed	599	53.9	1
Type of primary care	Sole caregiver	351	31.6	1
	Shared caregiving by a caregiver and a foreign worker/household	411	37.0	2
	Shared caregiving by different relatives	22	2.0	3
	Caregiving by a foreign worker	153	13.8	4
	Other	174	15.6	5
Frequency of care	1–2 days per week	105	9.5	1
	3–5 days per week	110	9.9	2
	≥6 days per week	896	80.6	3
Caregiver’s mood (multiple choice)	Helplessness	964	86.8	1: with the mood; and 0: without the mood
	Loneliness	1074	96.7
	Anxiety	963	86.7
	Frustration	1015	91.4
	Nervousness	895	80.6
	Anger	901	81.1
	Sadness	1066	95.9
	Emotional liability	1032	92.9
	Troublesome	920	82.8
	Hopelessness	966	86.9
Caregiver’s depression	No depressive symptomatology	758	68.2	1: applied to a particular depression; and 0: otherwise
	Mild depressive symptomatology	145	13.1
	Moderate depressive symptomatology	128	11.5
	Severe depressive symptomatology	80	7.2

Table 3 Twelve Rules with CES-D=3

Rule no.	Antecedent	No. of the Cases in the Database	Support (%)	Confidence (%)	Lift
1	Relation to the patient: Child Behavioral symptoms of PLWD: Aggression Caregiver’s mood: Helplessness	8	2.27	87.50	3.86
2	CDR of PLWD: Moderate dementia Caregiver’s mood: Helplessness Caregiver’s mood: Anxiety	8	2.27	87.50	3.86
3	Age of PLWD: 75–84 years Gender of PLWD: Male Caregiver’s mood: Nervousness Caregiver’s mood: Hopelessness	8	2.27	87.50	3.86
4	Age of PLWD: 75–84 years Type of dementia: Alzheimer’s disease Age of Caregiver: 50–59 years Caregiver’s mood: Helplessness	8	2.27	87.50	3.86
5	Type of dementia: Alzheimer’s disease Caregiver’s employment: Unemployed or retired Caregiver’s mood: Helplessness Caregiver’s mood: Anxiety Caregiver’s mood: Emotional liability	8	2.27	87.50	3.86
6	Type of dementia: Alzheimer’s disease Type of primary care: Sole caregiver Caregiver’s mood: Anxiety Caregiver’s mood: Anger Caregiver’s mood: Emotional liability	8	2.27	87.50	3.86
7	Type of dementia: Alzheimer’s disease Walking ability of PLWD: Independent Type of primary care: Sole caregiver Caregiver’s mood: Anxiety Caregiver’s mood: Anger Caregiver’s mood: Emotional liability	8	2.27	87.50	3.86
8	CDR of PLWD: Moderate dementia Caregiver’s employment: Unemployed or retired Caregiver’s mood: Helplessness	10	2.83	80.00	3.53
9	Age of PLWD: 75–84 years Type of dementia: Alzheimer’s disease Caregiver’s mood: Helplessness Caregiver’s mood: Anxiety	10	2.83	80.00	3.53
10	Type of dementia: Alzheimer’s disease Caregiver’s employment: Unemployed or retired Caregiver’s mood: Anxiety Caregiver’s mood: Anger Caregiver’s mood: Emotional liability	10	2.83	80.00	3.53
11	Frequency of care: ≥6 days per week Caregiver’s mood: Helplessness Caregiver’s mood: Anxiety Caregiver’s mood: Hopelessness	10	2.83	80.00	3.53
12	Walking ability of PLWD: Independent Frequency of care: ≥6 days per week Caregiver’s mood: Helplessness Caregiver’s mood: Anxiety Caregiver’s mood: Hopelessness	10	2.83	80.00	3.53

Abbreviations: CDR, clinical dementia rating; PLWD, persons living with dementia.

Table 4 Seven General Rules Based on 12 Rules with CES-D=3

General Rule	Original rule	Antecedent	Consequent
1	6	Type of dementia: AD Type of primary care: Sole caregiver Caregiver’s mood: Anxiety, Anger, and Emotional liability	CES-D=3
	7	Type of dementia: AD Walking ability of PLWD: Independent Type of primary care: Sole caregiver Caregiver’s mood: Anxiety, Anger, and Emotional liability
2	4	Type of dementia: AD Age of PLWD: 75–84 years Age of caregiver: 50–59 years Caregiver’s mood: Helplessness	CES-D=3
	9	Type of dementia: AD Age of PLWD: 75–84 years Caregiver’s mood: Helplessness and Anxiety
3	5	Type of dementia: AD Caregiver’s employment: Unemployed or retired Caregiver’s mood: Helplessness, Anxiety, and Emotional liability	CES-D=3
	10	Type of dementia: AD Caregiver’s employment: Unemployed or retired Caregiver’s mood: Anxiety, Anger, and Emotional liability
4	2	CDR of PLWD: Moderate dementia Caregiver’s mood: Helplessness and Anxiety	CES-D=3
	8	CDR of PLWD: Moderate dementia Caregiver’s employment: Unemployed or retired Caregiver’s mood: Helplessness
5	11	Frequency of care: ≥6 days per week Caregiver’s mood: Helplessness, Anxiety, and Hopelessness	CES-D=3
	12	Walking ability of PLWD: Independent Frequency of care: ≥6 days per week Caregiver’s mood: Helplessness, Anxiety, and Hopelessness
6	1	Relation to the patient: Child Behavioral symptoms of PLWD: Aggression Caregiver’s mood: Helplessness	CES-D=3
7	3	Age of PLWD: 75–84 years Gender of PLWD: Male Caregiver’s mood: Nervousness and Hopelessness	CES-D=3

Abbreviations: CDR, clinical dementia rating; AD, Alzheimer’s disease; PLWD, persons living with dementia.