Psychological distress of families caring for the frail elderly.

In a study of psychological problems in 60 principal family carers of elderly patients, 12 (20%) were found to experience mild depression or anxiety. There was no significant difference in psychological distress between male and female carers, and between carers in the two age groups, 20-49 years and 50 years and above. Those carers who lacked social support had a greater propensity to develop anxiety or depression, but there was no association between psychological distress of carers and functional disabilities of the elderly patients.