Protective factors associated with mental health symptoms in caregivers of persons with dementia

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundCaregivers (CGs) of persons with dementia (PWDs) have relatively high levels of caregiver burden, depression, and anxiety. This observational, cross‐sectional study examined the extent to which preparedness for caregiving and knowledge about dementia might be associated with lower levels of these mental health symptoms.MethodAt the entry into a dementia care coordination program, CGs (N = 74) were surveyed about personal characteristics, characteristics of the PWD they care for (N = 74), mental health symptoms, and their perceptions about caregiving. Three univariate linear regressions were conducted to assess associations between protective factors (i.e., preparedness for caregiving, dementia knowledge) and CGs’ levels of depression, anxiety, and caregiver burden, controlling for CG age, CG education, and PWD level of functional independence in activities of daily living (ADLs).Result(Table 1). Neither preparedness for caregiving or dementia knowledge were significantly associated with CG depression or anxiety. However, younger CGs reported higher levels of depression (B = ‐.007, t = ‐3.33, p = 0.001) and anxiety (B = ‐.12, t = ‐2.91, p = 0.005). CGs with higher preparedness for caregiving reported lower CG burden (B = ‐.67, t = ‐2.51, p = 0.015), and CGs of PWDs with lower functional independence reported higher CG burden (B = ‐2.19, t = ‐2.96, p = 0.004).ConclusionResults of this cross‐sectional, observational study indicate that CGs’ preparedness for caregiving is associated with CG burden and that younger GGs had higher levels of depression and anxiety. These findings suggest that CG age may impact CG mental health and provide opportunities for intervention including targeting mood in younger CGs and increasing CG preparedness to potentially decrease CG burden. Additionally, emotional preparation for providing care to PWDs may be more important for reducing CGs’ burden than teaching specific knowledge about what to expect in dementia, and CGs of PWDs with lower functional abilities may benefit from targeted supports to reduce burden.