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- Title
Health of family members caring for elderly persons with dementia. A longitudinal study.
- Authors
Baumgarten, Mona; Hanley, James A.; Infante-Rivard, Claire; Battista, Renaldo N.; Becker, Rubin; Gauthier, Serge; Baumgarten, M; Hanley, J A; Infante-Rivard, C; Battista, R N; Becker, R; Gauthier, S
- Abstract
<bold>Objective: </bold>To estimate the change in depression and physical symptoms during a 1-year period in a group of caregivers for elderly persons with dementia and in a group of comparison participants.<bold>Design: </bold>Cohort study with a comparison group.<bold>Setting: </bold>Outpatient geriatric assessment unit and ophthalmology service in an acute care hospital.<bold>Participants: </bold>218 close family members of a consecutive sample of patients with dementia and patients having cataract surgery were interviewed to obtain a baseline assessment. Of these, 86 caregivers (family members of patients with dementia) and 95 comparison participants (family members of patients with cataracts) were interviewed again approximately 1 year later.<bold>Main Outcome Measures: </bold>Center for Epidemiologic Studies depression scale and Aday and Andersen's 24-item physical symptom checklist.<bold>Results: </bold>For the Center for Epidemiologic Studies depression score, the difference between caregivers and comparison participants with respect to change during the 1-year study period was 2.1 (95% CI, 1.0 to 5.2); for physical symptoms, the difference was 0.4 (CI, -0.3 to 1.1). A higher level of behavioral disturbance in the patients with dementia at time 1 and institutionalization of the patient between time 1 and time 2 were predictive of worsening caregiver depression and physical symptoms during the study period. The magnitude and direction of changes in caregiver health varied considerably.<bold>Conclusions: </bold>Overall mean changes in depression and physical symptoms during 1 year were small. The observed variability in the individual response to the caregiving situation suggests that future research should focus on the identification of salient prognostic factors.
- Subjects
PSYCHOLOGY of caregivers; ELDER care; DEMENTIA patients
- Publication
Annals of Internal Medicine, 1994, Vol 120, Issue 2, p126
- ISSN
0003-4819
- Publication type
journal article
- DOI
10.7326/0003-4819-120-2-199401150-00005