Abstract
Informal caregivers of persons with dementia often report high levels of anxiety, depression and burden. Nonetheless, other less evaluated psychological symptoms might also influence their health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The aim of this study was to comprehensively analyse other psychological symptoms and their influence on the health-related quality of life of informal caregivers. Fifty-four informal women caregivers and fifty-six women non-caregivers were recruited to participate in the study. Psychological symptoms were assessed using the Symptom Check-List-90-Revised (SCL-90-R) questionnaire and the HRQoL with the EuroQoL-Five Dimensions and Three Levels (EurQoL-5D-3L) questionnaire. Significant between-group differences were found in the majority of scales in the SCL-90-R questionnaire (p < 0.01) and caregivers also reported a worse HRQoL than non-caregivers (p < 0.05). Several psychological symptoms such as obsession-compulsive (β = 0.47), hostility (β = 0.59), and somatization (β = −0.49) had a significant impact on caregivers’ HRQoL (R2 explained between 0.17 and 0.30 of the variance). Caregivers are at a higher risk of suffering other psychological symptoms and show a moderate–high level of psychiatric morbidity, which therefore explains the poorer HRQoL outcomes. Supporting interventions should be provided to mitigate these psychological symptoms in order to improve their general distress and HRQoL.
Highlights
This study aimed to evaluate other psychological symptoms and health-related quality of life in women caregivers of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients compared to non-caregivers, as well as to analyse the relationship between HRQoL and these symptoms, and to determine what symptoms influence health-related quality of life in this population
Caregivers had an average age of 60.6 ± 6.6 years, while non-caregivers had an average age of 62.6 ± 5.6 years
Our study found several psychological symptoms evaluated with the SCL-90-R that may have a significant influence on health status and health-related quality of life in caregivers of patients with Alzheimer’s disease
Summary
Dementia continues to be one of the most frequent causes of dependence in the elderly, and it is one of the most worrying global public health and social care problems facing people today and in the future, posing a challenge for public health systems and policy makers [1].The prevalence of dementia is estimated to vary between 5.4% and 14.9% in people older than 65, and 7% and 19.2% in those over 70 years of age [2], with an average of around 10% [3].The ongoing growth in the number of elderly people together with the rise in life expectancy and other sociodemographic factors are contributing to the increasing need for people to take care of patients with dementia (formal and informal caregivers).The provision of extraordinary care for a person with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias to develop activities of daily living (ADLs) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) residesInt. Dementia continues to be one of the most frequent causes of dependence in the elderly, and it is one of the most worrying global public health and social care problems facing people today and in the future, posing a challenge for public health systems and policy makers [1]. The prevalence of dementia is estimated to vary between 5.4% and 14.9% in people older than 65, and 7% and 19.2% in those over 70 years of age [2], with an average of around 10% [3]. The ongoing growth in the number of elderly people together with the rise in life expectancy and other sociodemographic factors are contributing to the increasing need for people to take care of patients with dementia (formal and informal caregivers). Public Health 2020, 17, 1078; doi:10.3390/ijerph17031078 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
