Sasha Mallya1, Alexandra J Fiocco1. 1. Department of Psychology,Institute for Stress and Wellbeing Research,Ryerson University,Toronto,Ontario,Canada.
Abstract
ABSTRACTBackground:With a rise in the aging population and a consequential rise in persons diagnosed with dementia comes an increase in the number of informal caregivers who are caring for a loved one. The objective of the proposed study was to assess the neurocognitive and psychological effects of caring for a person with dementia or a related neurodegenerative disease in a sample of Canadian informal caregivers. METHODS: Fifty-seven informal caregivers of a person with dementia or a related neurodegenerative disease (mean age = 66.26, SD = 7.55) and 97 non-caregivers (mean age = 69.16, SD = 4.84) were recruited. Neuropsychological measures of attention, cognitive flexibility, verbal learning, delayed recall, and verbal fluency were examined, and questionnaires related to perceived stress, quality of life, mood, and self-esteem were administered. RESULTS: Caregivers made more errors on a measure of cognitive flexibility (p = 0.02), generated fewer words on measures of phonemic fluency (p < 0.01) and semantic fluency (p < 0.001), and learned significantly fewer words on a list-learning task (p < 0.01). Caregivers also reported experiencing significantly more perceived stress (p < 0.001), lower quality of life (p < 0.001), and were more likely to meet the cut-off for clinically significant depressive symptoms on a self-report scale (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: These data contribute to a growing body of literature that consistently points to the need for immediate action to improve the welfare of caregivers.
ABSTRACTBackground:With a rise in the aging population and a consequential rise in persons diagnosed with dementia comes an increase in the number of informal caregivers who are caring for a loved one. The objective of the proposed study was to assess the neurocognitive and psychological effects of caring for a person with dementia or a related neurodegenerative disease in a sample of Canadian informal caregivers. METHODS: Fifty-seven informal caregivers of a person with dementia or a related neurodegenerative disease (mean age = 66.26, SD = 7.55) and 97 non-caregivers (mean age = 69.16, SD = 4.84) were recruited. Neuropsychological measures of attention, cognitive flexibility, verbal learning, delayed recall, and verbal fluency were examined, and questionnaires related to perceived stress, quality of life, mood, and self-esteem were administered. RESULTS: Caregivers made more errors on a measure of cognitive flexibility (p = 0.02), generated fewer words on measures of phonemic fluency (p < 0.01) and semantic fluency (p < 0.001), and learned significantly fewer words on a list-learning task (p < 0.01). Caregivers also reported experiencing significantly more perceived stress (p < 0.001), lower quality of life (p < 0.001), and were more likely to meet the cut-off for clinically significant depressive symptoms on a self-report scale (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: These data contribute to a growing body of literature that consistently points to the need for immediate action to improve the welfare of caregivers.
Authors: Glenna S Brewster; Victor Molinari; Christina McCrae; Jason Beckstead; Rita D'Aoust; Meredeth Rowe Journal: West J Nurs Res Date: 2021-09-01 Impact factor: 1.774
Authors: Martina Luchetti; Antonio Terracciano; Yannick Stephan; Damaris Aschwanden; Angelina R Sutin Journal: Aging Ment Health Date: 2020-04-29 Impact factor: 3.514