Prevalence of Depression among Caregivers of Dementia Patients

Abstract

Background: Depression is a common problem af fecting caregivers of dementia pat ients . Factors such asc ar egi v e rs ’ ag e, g en de r, ed ucational level , mari tal status and financial status may play a role in care givingrelated depressive disorder.Aim: to detect the prevalence of depression among caregivers .Methods: The study included 96 caregivers for demented elderly patients. Depression among caregivers was assessed using PHQ-9 scaleResults: T he c a r egi v e rs ’ m ea n ag e was (4 2. 94 ) ± 1 3.1 7 y e a rs . (69.7%) of the care givers were women. More than hal f of them (52%) were mar ried. (38.5%) of caregivers had moderate to severe depression, (43.7%) had mi ld to moderate depression and (17.7%) were wi th minimal depressive symptoms .Conclusions: Caregivers of patients wi th dementia are prone to depression and physical ai lments. Caregiverfactors predicting l iabi l i ty to caregiver burden are c a re gi v e r ’ s fi n anc i al s t at us , c a re gi v e r’ s ed uc a ti o n l ev el am on gother socio-demographic variables.