The prevalence of depression in the carers of dementia sufferers

Abstract

The survey aims to evaluate psychiatric morbidity in the carers of dementia sufferers using a semi-structured psychiatric interview. The case notes of consecutive referrals to four psychiatric services for the elderly in the West Midlands and a memory clinic service in Bristol were reviewed. All referrals who fulfilled the CAMDEX criteria for mild or moderate dementia and had a carer in contact at least once a week were contacted. Participants were assessed using a detailed package which included a Geriatric Mental State Schedule for the carers. More than 90% of those contacted agreed to participate. Altogether 125 patients with dementia were assessed of whom 109 had family members or friends as the main carer. Thirty-one (28.4%) of the carers had a case level of depression and three (2.75%) had a case level of anxiety. In addition, 36 (33.2%) carers had subcase levels of morbidity. First-degree relatives showed a trend to be more likely to suffer from depression than friends or more distant relatives. The prevalence of depression was similar among carers in the two different service settings. There was good agreement between AGECAT and RDC diagnosis of depression.

The Prince Henry Hospital Dementia Caregivers? Training Programme

“…High levels of caregiver psychological morbidity have been extensively documented (Brodaty and Hadzi-Pavlovic, 1990;Coope et al, 1995;Gallagher et al, 1989;Gilleard, 1984;Morris et al, 1988;Zarit et al, 1985). A model can be devised, based on that proposed by Poulshock and Deimling (1984), which is helpful heuristically and clinically to explain caregiver strain (Fig.…”

Depressive disorders in caregivers of dementia patients: A systematic review

“…In the three studies using RDC-criteria for depressive disorders (Coope et al, 1995;Gallagher et al, 1989;Lowery et al, 2000), a distinction was made between major, intermittent and minor depression. Major depression according to RDC-criteria is comparable to major depressive disorder according to DSM-III and DSM-III-R criteria.…”

A systematic review of the prevalence and covariates of anxiety in caregivers of people with dementia

“…Anxietyencompassing feelings of worry and fear, and physical symptoms including muscular tension and somatic symptoms -has been relatively neglected in this group. The only previous systematic review to include the prevalence and correlates of anxiety in caregivers for people with dementia (CG) found only seven studies measuring anxiety (1989-1995Schulz et al, 1995). The authors reported that anxiety prevalence was significantly increased in CG compared with the general population.…”