Association between family caregivers and depressive symptoms among community-dwelling older adults in Japan: A cross-sectional study during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Arch Gerontol Geriatr
; 96: 104468, 2021.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1283920
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES:
Novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic could increase the mental health burden of family caregivers of older adults, but related reports are limited. We examined the association between family caregiving and changes in the depressive symptom status during the pandemic.METHODS:
This cross-sectional study included 957 (mean age [standard deviation] = 80.8 [4.8] years; 53.5% females) community-dwelling older adults aged ≥ 65 years from a semi-urban area of Japan, who completed a mailed questionnaire. Based on the depressive symptom status assessed with the Two-Question Screen between March and October 2020, participants were classified into four groups "non-depressive symptoms," "incidence of depressive symptoms," "remission from depressive symptoms," or "persistence of depressive symptoms." Participants were assessed in October 2020 for the family caregiving status, caregiving role, the severity of care recipients' needs, and increased caregiver burden during the pandemic, each with the simple question. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was applied to obtain the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for changes in depressive symptom status.RESULTS:
Compared to non-caregivers, family caregivers were associated with the incidence (OR [95% CI] = 3.17 [1.55-6.51], p < 0.01) and persistence of depressive symptoms (OR [95% CI] = 2.39 [1.30-4.38], p < 0.01). Primary caregivers, caregivers for individuals with severe care needs, and caregivers with increased burden during the pandemic had a high risk of depressive symptoms.CONCLUSIONS:
Family caregivers had a high risk of depressive symptoms during the pandemic. Our findings highlight the need for a support system for family caregivers.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Caregivers
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Qualitative research
/
Randomized controlled trials
Topics:
Long Covid
Limits:
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Country/Region as subject:
Asia
Language:
English
Journal:
Arch Gerontol Geriatr
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
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