Background/Aims: Carer burden has been associated with other carer-reported factors (e.g. depression), but less is known about the influence of more independent variables. We aimed to determine the impact of cognitive deficits, demographic variables and dementia subtype on carer burden. Methods: Patients with Alzheimer's dementia (n = 35) or frontotemporal lobar degeneration (n = 61) underwent assessment of anterograde memory, word generation, impulse control and emotion recognition. Age, sex, relationship type, disease duration and diagnosis were also considered. Carers completed the Zarit Burden Interview. Results: In bivariate regression analyses, carer burden was related to age, diagnosis, memory, impulse control and emotion recognition. Stepwise multivariate regression revealed independent contributions by patient age, memory and emotion recognition, explaining 23% of the variance. Conclusion: The findings could help refine interventions and carer support.
