Table 1 Descriptive statistics for study variables at baseline, 12-month, and 24-month follow-ups
|  | Baseline (N = 977) | 12-month follow-up (N = 802) | 24-month follow-up (N = 604) |
|---|---|---|---|
Caregiver variables | Â | Â | Â |
Demographic variables | Â | Â | Â |
Age in years, M (SD; range) | 72.29 (8.19; 41–92) | 73.21 (7.95; 42–93) | 73.76 (7.85; 32–94) |
Age group, n (%) | Â | Â | Â |
 < 65 years | 149 (15.2) | 106 (13.2) | 63 (10.4) |
 65–69 | 191 (19.5) | 137 (17.1) | 104 (17.2) |
 70–74 | 241 (24.6) | 207 (25.8) | 164 (27.1) |
 75–79 | 207 (21.3) | 174 (21.7) | 125 (20.8) |
 ≥ 80 | 189 (19.4) | 178 (22.2) | 148 (24.5) |
Ethnicity, n (%) | Â | Â | Â |
 White British | 942 (96.4) | 774 (96.5) | 582 (96.4) |
 White other | 28 (2.9) | 22 (2.8) | 18 (3.0) |
 Other | 7 (0.7) | 6 (0.7) | 4 (0.6) |
Sex, n (%) | Â | Â | Â |
 Women | 655 (67.0) | 533 (66.5) | 395 (65.5) |
 Men | 322 (33.0) | 269 (33.5) | 209 (34.5) |
Education, n (%) | Â | Â | Â |
 No qualifications | 237 (24.3) | 190 (23.7) | 138 (22.9) |
 School leaving certificate age 16 | 225 (23.1) | 187 (23.4) | 140 (23.3) |
 School leaving certificate age 18 | 281 (28.9) | 227 (28.4) | 170 (28.2) |
 University level education | 231 (23.7) | 196 (24.5) | 154 (25.6) |
 Missing, n | 3 | 2 | 2 |
Hours of care per day, n (%) | Â | Â | Â |
 Less than one hour of care per day | 195 (20.0) | 122 (15.7) | 75 (12.5) |
 One to ten hours of care per day | 361 (36.9) | 277 (35.6) | 221 (36.9) |
 More than ten hours of care per day | 412 (42.2) | 380 (48.8) | 303 (50.6) |
 Missing, n | 9 | 23 | 5 |
Health conditions, M (SD) | 1.46 (1.42) | 1.85 (1.65) | 2.07 (1.85) |
 No health conditions, n (%) | 261 (26.8) | 159 (19.8) | 107 (17.7) |
 One health condition, n (%) | 315 (45.5) | 208 (34.2) | 126 (27.3) |
 Two health conditions, n (%) | 202 (29.1) | 194 (31.9) | 156 (33.8) |
 Three health conditions, n (%) | 99 (14.3) | 110 (18.1) | 93 (20.2) |
 Four health conditions, n (%) | 41 (5.9) | 42 (6.9) | 42 (9.1) |
 Five health conditions, n (%) | 19 (2.7) | 26 (4.3) | 20 (4.3) |
 Six health conditions, n (%) | 8 (1.2) | 10 (1.6) | 10 (2.2) |
 Seven health conditions, n (%) | 5 (0.7) | 9 (1.5) | 6 (1.3) |
 Eight health conditions, n (%) | 3 (0.4) | 7 (1.2) | 5 (1.1) |
 Nine health conditions, n (%) | 1 (0.1) | 1 (0.2) | 1 (0.2) |
 Ten health conditions, n (%) | 0 (0) | 1 (0.2) | 2 (0.4) |
 Missing, n | 23 | 35 | 36 |
Stress, M (SD) | 19.38 (9.75) | 22.15 (10.11) | 23.29 (10.13) |
 Missing, n | 43 | 54 | 42 |
Positive aspects of caregiving, M (SD) | 27.94 (7.42) | 27.72 (7.75) | 27.73 (7.82) |
 Missing, n | 20 | 40 | 31 |
Social network, M (SD) | 17.70 (5.43) | 17.34 (5.30) | 17.10 (5.34) |
 Missing, n | 24 | 39 | 28 |
Informant/caregiver-rated variables | Â | Â | Â |
Functional ability, M (SD) | 17.56 (8.55) | 20.67 (8.68) | 22.62 (8.70) |
 Missing, n | 62 | 36 | 21 |
Neuropsychiatric symptoms, M (SD) | 3.42 (2.43) | 3.77 (2.53) | 4.13 (2.51) |
 Missing, n | 202 | 18 | 23 |
Person with dementia variables | Â | Â | Â |
Cognition, M (SD) | 69.56 (13.92) | 65.97 (16.44) | 64.15 (18.63) |
 Missing, n | 183 | 71 | 101 |
Time since diagnosis, n (%) | Â | Â | Â |
 Less than one year | 479 (49.0) |  |  |
 Between one and two years | 298 (30.5) |  |  |
 Three or more years | 134 (13.7) |  |  |
 Missing, n | 66 |  |  |