Table 1
Essential Tremor Enfeeblement Survey Questions
| ETES Question | Positive Endorsement among All Participants (n = 98) | Positive Endorsement among High Scorers (ETES Score >20.4; n = 19) |
|---|---|---|
| 1. The tremor makes your loved one suddenly seems prematurely old | 16 (16.3) | 10 (52.6) |
| 2. Because of the tremor, your loved one seems totally unable to effectively use their hands | 12 (12.2) | 9 (47.4) |
| 3. Because of their tremor, they seem too disabled to undergo usual living processes | 8 (8.2) | 7 (36.8) |
| 4. They seem to be rendered helpless by their affliction | 4 (4.1) | 4 (21.1) |
| 5. Because of their tremor, they seem broken down | 8 (8.2) | 8 (42.1) |
| 6. Your loved one now seems to be fading away | 6 (6.1) | 6 (31.6) |
| 7. The tremor makes your loved one seem enfeebled | 7 (7.1) | 7 (36.8) |
| 8. Watching your loved ones struggle with their tremor sometimes makes you feel exhausted | 13 (13.2) | 10 (52.6) |
[i] ETES, Essential Tremor Enfeeblement Survey.
Positive endorsement = answering “agree” or “strongly agree.”
Table 2
Demographic and Clinical Data on 98 Patients and 98 Caregivers
| Measure | Value | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patient (n = 98) | Demographics | Age (years) | 80.5 ± 9.0* | |
| Education (years) | 16.2 ± 2.6 (16.0) | |||
| Gender | Male | 44 (44.9) | ||
| Female | 54 (55.1) | |||
| Race | White | 97 (99.0) | ||
| Black | 0 (0.0) | |||
| Other | 1 (1.0) | |||
| Tremor | Total tremor score (range 0–36) | 20.7 ± 5.6* | ||
| Tremor duration (years) | 41.6 ± 22.8 (38.4) | |||
| Tremor Disability Scale (range 0–100) | 65.1 ± 24.8 (70.0) | |||
| Functional and Medical | Cumulative Illness Rating Scale (CIRS, range 0–39) | 2.3 ± 2.2 (4.0) | ||
| Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL, range 0–8) | 7.3 ± 1.6 (8.0) | |||
| Steps off line in tandem gait | 4.9 ± 3.9 (4.0) | |||
| Number of medications | 5.3 ± 3.4 (5.0) | |||
| Cognitive | Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA, range 0–30) | 21.3 ± 8.5 (25.0) | ||
| Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR, range 0–3) | 0.2 ± 0.4 (0.0) | |||
| Normal (CDR = 0) | 78 (79.6) | |||
| Questionable dementia (CDR = 0.5) | 15 (15.3) | |||
| Dementia (CDR ≥1) | 5 (5.1) | |||
| Psychological and psychosocial | Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS, range 0–30) | 5.9 ± 4.7 (5.0) | ||
| Clinical depression (GDS ≥10) | 18 (18.6) | |||
| Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale (GAD-7, range 0–21) | 2.3 ± 3.1 (1.0) | |||
| Essential Tremor Embarrassment Assessment (ETEA, range 14–70) | 38.0 ± 12.3* | |||
| Caregiver (n = 98) | Demographics | Age (years, n = 97) | 71.0 ± 11.8 (73.0) | |
| Gender | Male | 35 (35.7) | ||
| Female | 63 (64.3) | |||
| Race | White | 95 (96.9) | ||
| Black | 0 (0.0) | |||
| Other | 3 (3.1) | |||
| Education | High School or General Equivalency Diploma (GED) | 16 (16.3) | ||
| Trade School | 7 (7.1) | |||
| Associate’s degree | 14 (14.3) | |||
| Bachelor’s degree | 34 (34.7) | |||
| Master’s degree | 21 (21.4) | |||
| Doctorate or equivalent | 6 (6.1) | |||
| Relationship to patient | Spouse | 61 (62.2) | ||
| Child | 22 (22.4) | |||
| Sibling | 2 (2.0) | |||
| Other family member | 3 (3.1) | |||
| Friend | 10 (10.2) | |||
| Living arrangement | Living with patient | 57 (58.2) | ||
| Not living with patient | 40 (40.8) | |||
| No data | 1 (1.0) | |||
| Psychosocial | Essential Tremor Perceived Embarrassment Assessment (pETEA, range 14—70) | 33.2 ± 10.9* | ||
| Essential Tremor Enfeeblement Survey (ETES, range 8–40) | 14.2 ± 6.2 (12.0) | |||
| Zarit 12-Item Burden Interview (ZBI-12, range 0–48) | 5.3 ± 6.5 (2.0) | |||
| Dyad (n = 98) | Age Difference | Patient age–caregiver age | 9.5 ± 13.3 (4.2) | |
| Caregiver same age as patient (±3 years) | 35 (35.7) | |||
| Caregiver older than patient | 8 (8.2) | |||
| Caregiver younger than patient | 54 (55.1) | |||
| No data | 1 (1.0) | |||
| Gender Difference | Male–Male | 2 (2.0) | ||
| Female–Female | 22 (22.5) | |||
| Male–Female | 74 (75.5) | |||
Table 3
Clinical Correlates of ETES Score
| Measure | Correlation Coefficient (rs) | Correlation p | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patient | Demographics | Age (years) | 0.30 | 0.003 |
| Education (years) | −0.06 | 0.54 | ||
| Tremor | Total tremor score | 0.40 | <0.001 | |
| Tremor duration (years) | 0.12 | 0.24 | ||
| Tremor Disability Scale | 0.28 | 0.006 | ||
| Functional | Cumulative Illness Rating Scale (CIRS) | 0.09 | 0.69 | |
| Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) | −0.31 | 0.004 | ||
| Steps off line in tandem gait | 0.23 | 0.03 | ||
| Number of medications | 0.20 | 0.05 | ||
| Cognitive | Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) | −0.21 | 0.04 | |
| Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) | 0.23 | 0.02 | ||
| Psychological and psychosocial | Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) | 0.45 | <0.001 | |
| Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale (GAD-7) | −0.08 | 0.48 | ||
| Essential Tremor Embarrassment Assessment (ETEA) | 0.12 | 0.26 | ||
| Caregiver | Demographics | Age (years) | −0.12 | 0.23 |
| Psychosocial | Perceived Essential Tremor Embarrassment Assessment (pETEA) | 0.60 | <0.001 | |
| Zarit 12-item Burden Interview (ZBI-12) | 0.63 | <0.001 | ||
| Dyad | Age difference (patient age–caregiver age) | 0.31 | 0.002 |
[i] ETES, Essential Tremor Enfeeblement Survey.
Correlations are Spearman’s correlation between the indicated measure and ETES.
Bolded values are significant (p < 0.05).