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 Researchers followed 236 family caregivers of Alzheimer’s patients
for three years after the diagnosis. Caregiving appeared to be much
more stressful for people who were married to the patients or who
suffered from depression when the study began.
“Even minor depressive symptoms at the beginning of caregiving are a
significant predictor of psychological distress during the years of
caregiving,” lead study author Tarja Valimaki of the University of
Eastern Finland said by email.
The findings suggest that spousal caregivers should receive mental
health evaluations at the time that their loved one is diagnosed
with Alzheimer’s, Valimaki added.
“Alzheimer’s disease patients’ home care is reliant on caregivers,
and it is not reasonable for spousal caregivers to put their own
health at risk due to the caregiving,” Valimaki said.
Alzheimer’s disease is an irreversible, progressive brain disorder
that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills and eventually, the
ability to carry out the simplest tasks. It is the most common cause
of dementia among older adults and a leading cause of death among
the elderly.
The study included 166 Alzheimer’s patients being cared for by their
spouses, as well as 70 patients being cared for by other loved ones.
Researchers assessed psychological stress by asking caregivers about
their ability carry out daily activities, social functioning, and
the appearance of new sources of distress or concern in their lives.
At the start of the study, caregivers and patients who lived
together had typically been sharing a home for more than three
decades. Spousal caregivers were older and reported more depression
than caregivers who weren’t married to the patients.
Over three years, psychological distress appeared to increase
significantly among spousal caregivers but not among nonspousal
caregivers, the study found.
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One limitation of the study is that almost half of the participants
dropped out before the end, the authors acknowledge in the Journal
of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neurology.
Even so, the study highlights the need for doctors and nurses to
consider two people patients in an Alzheimer’s diagnosis – both the
person diagnosed and their partner or spouse, said Barbara Given, a
researcher at the college of nursing at Michigan State University in
East Lansing.
“Not everyone can be a good caregiver and as professionals we need
to do an assessment and determine who can do it, who wants to do it,
and who needs other support to do it,” Given, who wasn’t involved in
the study, said by email.
Another challenge may be financial, noted Carol Levine, director of
the families and health care project at the United Hospital Fund in
New York City.
“Perhaps there are alternatives in the Finnish system; in the U.S.
there are few alternatives and those that do exist are expensive and
beyond the reach of most families (assisted-living or full-time home
care) or considered unacceptable (a long-term care facility,”
Levine, who wasn’t involved in the study, said by email.
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/1O9tDrV Journal of Geriatric Psychology and
Neurology, published online August 6, 2015.
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