Neuropsychiatric symptoms of dementia and caregivers’ burden: a study among Indian caregivers

ABSTRACT Dementia is considered a most serious and disabling condition, affecting both the individual suffering from it and their caregiver. Objective: The study aimed to evaluate the relationship between neuropsychiatric problems of dementia and caregiver burden. Methods: A total of 138 caregivers of people with dementia participated in this cross-sectional study. The caregivers completed the questionnaires containing sociodemographic information as well as neuropsychiatric problems of dementia and caregiver burden. Results: The findings showed that all of the care-recipients were suffering from some kind of neuropsychiatric symptoms, the most common being apathy, anxiety, motor disturbance, and hallucination. Out of 12 symptoms, 11 were significantly associated with caregivers’ burden. The most important finding is that the severity of neuropsychiatric symptoms is highly responsible for severe caregivers’ burden. Conclusions: The identification of neuropsychiatric symptoms of dementia that influence caregiver burden is very critical for both caregivers’ and care-recipients’ health perspective. These findings can also be utilized to create care settings for demented people and help determine policies in the future.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Basu,Ipsita, Mukhopadhyay,Susmita
Format: Digital revista
Language:English
Published: Academia Brasileira de Neurologia, Departamento de Neurologia Cognitiva e Envelhecimento 2022
Online Access:http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1980-57642022000300332
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Summary:ABSTRACT Dementia is considered a most serious and disabling condition, affecting both the individual suffering from it and their caregiver. Objective: The study aimed to evaluate the relationship between neuropsychiatric problems of dementia and caregiver burden. Methods: A total of 138 caregivers of people with dementia participated in this cross-sectional study. The caregivers completed the questionnaires containing sociodemographic information as well as neuropsychiatric problems of dementia and caregiver burden. Results: The findings showed that all of the care-recipients were suffering from some kind of neuropsychiatric symptoms, the most common being apathy, anxiety, motor disturbance, and hallucination. Out of 12 symptoms, 11 were significantly associated with caregivers’ burden. The most important finding is that the severity of neuropsychiatric symptoms is highly responsible for severe caregivers’ burden. Conclusions: The identification of neuropsychiatric symptoms of dementia that influence caregiver burden is very critical for both caregivers’ and care-recipients’ health perspective. These findings can also be utilized to create care settings for demented people and help determine policies in the future.