Delirium and lucid episodes in dementia: Associations with anticipatory grief and caregiver stressors

OBJECTIVES: To describe caregiver reports of delirium superimposed on dementia (DSD) and lucid episodes (LEs), and to examine their associations with anticipatory grief (AG) and caregiver stressors. DESIGN: Cross-sectional analysis of survey data. SETTING: Online survey of caregivers of persons living with dementia (PLWD). PARTICIPANTS: Current caregivers of PLWD (N = 434). MEASUREMENTS: DSD and LEs were assessed using caregiver-reported survey data. Caregiver outcomes included AG, role overload, and role captivity. RESULTS: DSD was consistently associated with higher AG, role overload, and role captivity. LEs were associated with lower AG but were not associated with role overload or role captivity. CONCLUSIONS: DSD and LEs are acute phenomena that may be associated with caregiver outcomes in different ways. While DSD shows robust associations with AG and caregiver stressors, LEs were specifically associated with AG.