ASSESSMENT OF DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY AMONG CAREGIVERS OF PSYCHIATRIC PATIENTS.

ABSTRACT

Background- Patients with psychiatric illnesses require support from family, peers, and care-givers to overcome the difficulties and manage their health. Caregivers are hence at a risk themselves to develop anxiety and depression, or related symptoms, due to the emotionally challenging and draining experience. Aim – To evaluate and assess anxiety and depression of caregivers to the patients admitted to the Psychiatry department of a tertiary care centre located in Rajasthan. Materials and Methods- Our assessment relied on data collection that followed cross-sectional observational analysis. We performed the study post approval of the ethical clearance by the respective committee at the university and an informed decision was consented to in written by 50 caregivers taking part in the study. These included caregivers to 25 patients with disorders due to substance use (Group A) and 25 patients with other psychiatric diagnosis (Group B). We also filled in socio-demographic details and performed scoring as administered by the HAM-D and HAM-A scales. ResultsGroup A comprised of more females (64%) than males in contrast to Group B participants. HAM-D score analysis showed that depression was present in Group A (52%) as compared to Group B participants (40%). HAM-A analysis of score showed anxiety in 34% of caregivers and was higher among Group A participants and among female caregivers. Conclusions- The results of the study can be used to plan for early interventions, to reduce stress among caregivers of patients with psychiatric illness