The purpose here was to assess functional capacity, mobility, and cognitive function of elderly with Alzheimer disease (AD), as well as the level of burden of their respective caregivers, and to search for possible associations between both. Among members of the Brazilian Alzheimer Association in Goiás, 28 subjects (aged 77.8±8.3 years) were selected, diagnosed following the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and the International Statistical Classification of Diseases; they were assessed by the mini-mental state examination, the Southampton Assessment of Mobility, and the Disability Assessment for Dementia. Their caregivers (aged 58.0±13.9 years) burden was assessed by means of the Zarit burden interview. Data were analysed by means of the Spearman test and the significance level set at 0.05. Significant weak correlations were found between cognitive and educational levels (r=0.389; p=0.041), DA subjects' functional capacity level and caregiver burden (r=-0.398; p=0.036), and between mobility and time of Alzheimer diagnosis (r=0.401; p=0.042). Results suggest that cognitive decline did not interfere in functional capacity, and that cognitive loss was proportionally greater than loss of mobility. Caregivers' burden could be associated to the level of functional capacity of the elderly with AD.
Aged; Alzheimer disease; Caregivers; Mobility limitation
