Caregiver Burden, Quality of Life and Vulnerability Towards Psychopathology in Caregivers of Patients with Dementia/Alzheimer's Disease

Abstract

Objective: To identify caregivers' burden, evaluate quality of life in them; and predict anxiety and depression in caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Study design: Cross-sectional study.

Place and duration of study: Neurology and Psychiatry Department of Lahore General Hospital (LGH), from January to December, 2013.

Methodology: A purposive sample of 60 caregivers, who had been taking care of patients with AD for more than one year, were recruited from the study centre. The Zarit Burden Interview was used to assess caregiver burden. The brief version of World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale to assess quality of life and anxiety and depression subscales of symptom checklist-revised were administered to assess caregivers' vulnerability towards psychopathology.

Results: There were 6 males and 54 females caregivers with mean age of 37.60 ±14.87 years. The burden of caregiving had negative relationship (-0.57; -0.50; -0.48; and -0.50, respectively) with physical, psychological, social, and environmental domains of quality of life. Neither caregiver burden nor quality of life predicted for anxiety and depression in the caregivers.

Conclusion: Caregiver burden may impair quality of life of caregivers but results imply the need to identify the interpersonal and intrapersonal characteristics of caregivers that buffered the adverse effects of caregiver burden and impaired the quality of life on psychological wellbeing of the patients with AD.