Relationship between chronic stress and carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) in elderly Alzheimer's disease caregivers

Roepke, Susan K.; Allison, Matthew A.; Känel, Roland von; Mausbach, Brent T.; Chattillion, Elizabeth A.; Harmell, Alexandrea L.; Patterson, Thomas L.; Dimsdale, Joel E.; Mills, Paul J.; Ziegler, Michael G.; Ancoli‐Israel, Sonia; Grant, Igor

doi:10.3109/10253890.2011.596866

Cited by 62 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…Research suggests that the acute procoagulant stress response might constitute a dynamic mediator of allostatic load, a measure of dysregulation and cumulative cost of stressors presented to an organism linked to increased risk of CVD; and allostatic load is higher in DCGs than non-DCGs (Roepke , et al , 2011c). …”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physiological and functional consequences of caregiving for relatives with dementia

Fonareva

Oken

2014

Int. Psychogeriatr.

192

119

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Background Chronic stress negatively affects health and well-being. A growing population of informal dementia caregivers experience chronic stress associated with extraordinary demands of caring for a relative with dementia. This review summarizes physiological and functional changes due to chronic dementia caregiver stress. Methods A literature search for papers assessing effects of dementia caregiving was conducted focusing on publications evaluating differences between caregivers and non-caregivers in objective measures of health and cognition. Results The review identified 37 studies describing data from 4145 participants including 749 dementia caregivers and 3396 non-caregiver peers. Objective outcome measures affected in dementia caregivers included markers of dyscoagulation, inflammation, and cell aging as well as measures of immune function, sleep, and cognition. Though diverse in designs, samples, and study quality, the majority of the studies indicated increased vulnerability of dementia caregivers to detrimental changes in health and cognition. Demographic and personality characteristics moderating or mediating effects of chronic stress in caregivers were also reviewed. Conclusions There is accumulating evidence that chronic dementia caregiver stress increases their vulnerability to disease and diminishes their ability to provide optimal care. Clinicians and society need to appreciate the extent of deleterious effects of chronic stress on dementia caregiver health.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physiological and functional consequences of caregiving for relatives with dementia

Fonareva

Oken

2014

Int. Psychogeriatr.

192

119

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“…Earlier reports have provided evidence that caregiver burden is associated with carotid artery intima-media thickness and impaired endothelial function 27,28 , particularly in the elderly, while chronically increasing serum levels of biomarkers of inflammation such as C-reactive protein and tumor necrosis factor α 29 . A recent Brazilian study 30 showed that caregivers have higher odds of negatively evaluating their physical health, disposition, mood, memory, and the capacity to perform leisure activities as compared with non-caregivers, reflecting poorly on their quality of life.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Caregiver awareness of cerebrovascular risk of patients with dementia due to Alzheimer's disease in São Paulo, Brazil

Oliveira¹,

Wajman²,

Bertolucci³

2014

Rev. psiquiatr. clín.

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Background: Proper control of cerebrovascular risk is essential to prevent cognitive change in dementia due to Alzheimer's disease (AD). Objective: To investigate whether caregiver awareness to control cerebrovascular risk impacts the lifestyles of patients with AD. Methods: Consecutive outpatients with AD were assessed for demographic features, Clinical Dementia Rating scores, cerebrovascular risk, pharmacotherapy, dietary therapy and practice of physical activities. Patients and caregivers were inquired on awareness of the importance of measures to control cerebrovascular risk. Chi-square test was employed for statistics, significance at ρ < 0.05. Results: A total of 217 patients were included; whereas 149 caregivers (68.7%) were aware of the need to control cerebrovascular risk, only 11 patients (5.1%) simultaneously practiced physical activities and received pharmacological treatment and dietary therapy. Patients with hypertension and diabetes mellitus were more likely to receive dietary therapy (ρ = 0.007). Male patients were more engaged in physical activities (ρ = 0.018). Patients in earlier AD stages exercised (ρ = 0.0003) and received pharmacological treatment more often (ρ = 0.0072). Caregiver awareness of the need to control cerebrovascular risk was higher when patients had hypertension (ρ = 0.024) and/or hypercholesterolemia (ρ = 0.006), and influenced adherence to dietary therapy (ρ = 0.002) and to pharmacological treatment (ρ = 0.001). Discussion: Caregiver awareness of the need to control cerebrovascular risk has positive impacts for patients with AD.

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“…In this sense, informal caregivers show a great incidence of health problems both psychological such as depression, high levels of neuroticism, anxiety symptoms, sleeplessness and cognitive problems [6–9] and medical such as cardiovascular diseases [10]. In addition, informal caregiving tends to be seen as cost-effective from a public economic point of view.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

UnderstAID, an ICT Platform to Help Informal Caregivers of People with Dementia: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Study

Núñez-Naveira

Alonso-Búa

Labra

et al. 2016

BioMed Research International

141

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Information and communications technology (ICT) could support ambient assisted living (AAL) based interventions to provide support to informal caregivers of people with dementia, especially when they need to cope with their feelings of overburden or isolation. An e-learning platform (understAID application) was tested by informal caregivers from Denmark, Poland, and Spain to explore the technical and the pedagogical specifications, as well as evaluating the impact of its use on the psychological status of the participants. 61 informal caregivers completed the study taking part in the experimental (n = 30) or control (n = 31) groups. 33.3% of the caregivers were satisfied with the application and around 50% of the participants assessed it as technically and pedagogically acceptable. After using understAID the caregivers in the experimental group significantly decreased their depressive symptomatology according to the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale, but a possible benefit on their feelings of competence and satisfaction with the caring experience was also observed. The low scores obtained for satisfaction were highlighting issues that need to be modified to meet the informal caregivers' needs in national, social, and cultural context. Some possible biases are also considered and discussed to be taken into account in future improvements of understAID application.

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Relationship between chronic stress and carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) in elderly Alzheimer's disease caregivers

Cited by 62 publications

References 53 publications

Physiological and functional consequences of caregiving for relatives with dementia

Physiological and functional consequences of caregiving for relatives with dementia

Caregiver awareness of cerebrovascular risk of patients with dementia due to Alzheimer's disease in São Paulo, Brazil

UnderstAID, an ICT Platform to Help Informal Caregivers of People with Dementia: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Study

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