Mental health and wellbeing in spouses of persons with dementia: the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study.

Helga Ask,Ingvild Saltvedt,Jostein Holmen,Kristian Tambs,Ellen Melbye Langballe,Geir Selbæk

doi:10.1186/1471-2458-14-413

Abstract

BackgroundCaring for a spouse diagnosed with dementia can be a stressful situation and can put the caregiving partner at risk of loss of mental health and wellbeing. The main aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between dementia and spousal mental health in a population-based sample of married couples older than 55 years of age. The association was investigated for individuals living together with their demented partner, as well as for individuals whose demented partner was living in an institution.MethodsData on dementia were collected from hospitals and nursing homes in the county of Nord-Trøndelag, Norway. These data were combined with data on spousal mental health, which were collected in a population-based health screening: the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT). Of 6,951 participating couples (>55 years), 131 included one partner that had been diagnosed with dementia.ResultsOur results indicate that after adjustment for covariates, having a partner with dementia is associated with lower levels of life satisfaction and more symptoms of anxiety and depression than reported by spouses of elderly individuals without dementia. Spouses living together with a partner diagnosed with dementia experienced moderately lower levels of life satisfaction (0.35 standard deviation [SD]) and more symptoms of depression (0.38 SD) and anxiety (0.23 SD) than did their non-caregiving counterparts. Having a partner with dementia that resided in a nursing home was associated with clearly lower life satisfaction. Compared with non-caregivers, these spouses reported lower levels of life satisfaction (1.16 SD), and also more symptoms of depression (0.38 SD), and more symptoms of anxiety (0.42 SD).ConclusionsHaving a partner with dementia is associated with loss of mental health and reduced life satisfaction. The risk of adverse mental health outcomes is greatest after the partner’s nursing home admission.

Highlights

Caring for a spouse diagnosed with dementia can be a stressful situation and can put the caregiving partner at risk of loss of mental health and wellbeing
Using a large population-based sample, the main aim of our study was to investigate the possible loss of mental health and wellbeing for individuals living with their demented partner and for individuals that have a demented partner in a nursing home, by comparing them to spouses of elderly people without dementia
The unadjusted effects indicate that dementia caregivers with a partner in a nursing home score one SD poorer on life

Summary

Introduction

Caring for a spouse diagnosed with dementia can be a stressful situation and can put the caregiving partner at risk of loss of mental health and wellbeing. Dementia caregivers must manage functional and cognitive impairment and often encounter behavioral problems and personality changes in the people for whom they care [22]. These factors are defined as primary stressors in the model and are related to the amount of care needed. Primary stressors activate secondary stress factors associated with roles and activities outside the caregiving context (e.g., related to work or other family members and friends). Together, all of these factors generate a stressful situation that could cause a loss of mental health and wellbeing in caregivers

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