The double vulnerability of elderly caregivers: multimorbidity and perceived burden and their associations with frailty

Abstract

Objective: To identify if multimorbidity and burden are associated with a greater likelihood of frailty in elderly caregivers of other elderly persons within the family context. Method: 148 elderly caregivers caring for other elderly persons [M=69.7 (±7.0) years old] were recruited using a criterion of convenience in public and private health services in the city of Campinas and surrounding areas. Information was gathered about socio-demographic context, context of care, physical health, care burden using the Zarit Burden Scale, and frailty, measured by subjective evaluation. Four groups of vulnerability were created based on the presence or absence of multimorbidities and high or low burden, in order to verify which group was most strongly associated with frailty. Data were analyzed using descriptive analysis, measurements of association and multivariate hierarchical logistic regression. Results: The prevalence of multimorbidity was 55.4%. The Zarit Burden Scale presented a median of 23 out of a total of 88 points. Of the sample, 35.1% were frail, 46.0% intermediate, and 18.9% robust. Elderly caregivers with multimorbidity and high burden had a greater probability of frailty (OR=3.6; CI 1.55-8.36), followed by those with multimorbidity and low burden (OR=2.8; CI 1.13-6.79). Conclusion: The sensation of burden among caregivers was reduced; those with double vulnerability were most prevalent among the four groups and had the greatest association with the occurrence of frailty; multimorbidity was associated with frailty. If combined with perceived burden, however, the odds ratios of the elderly caregivers being frail increased.

Frailty, depression, and quality of life: a study with elderly caregivers

“…Similar results were identified in an investigation carried out with 148 elderly caregivers in the city of Campinas (SP), which aimed to assess the multimorbidity, perceived overload and frailty of all interviewees. As a result, they obtained that 42.5% of the elderly caregivers also scored on reduced physical activity (20) .…”

“…Similar results were found in a survey conducted with elderly caregivers in the city of Campinas (SP). Of the 148 respondents, 46.0% were pre-fragile according to the criteria of the phenotype proposed by Linda Fried (20) .…”

Pre-frailty, frailty and associated factors in older caregivers of older adults

“…A cross-sectional study conducted in Brazil with 148 older caregivers of older adults recruited from healthcare services investigated the occurrence of frailty in four groups based on the presence/absence of multimorbidity and high or low care-related burden. The prevalence of pre-frailty and frailty was 46% and 35.1%, respectively, and the authors found a greater chance of frailty only in the group of caregivers with multimorbidity, regardless of care-related burden 13 .…”

Do European co‐residential caregivers aged 50+ have an increased risk of frailty?

“…(2010) found that caregivers had a high risk of developing frailty. Those caregivers who care for a person with Alzheimer's disease and experience multimorbidity and a high burden have a higher risk of developing frailty (Alves et al., 2018; de Peretti & Villars, 2015). With regard to spousal caregivers, Potier et al.…”