TITLE:
Evaluation of Anxiety and Depression in Caregivers of Patients Affected by Alzheimer’s Disease
AUTHORS:
Anna Vespa, Maria Velia Giulietti, Marica Ottaviani, R. Spatuzzi, F. Merico, Guido Gori, Olimpia Claudia Rossi, L. Paciaroni, Giuseppe Pelliccioni, Pietro Scendoni, Cristina Meloni
KEYWORDS:
Caregiver, Alzheimer’s Disease, Anxiety, Depression
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Alzheimer's Disease,
Vol.4 No.2,
May
20,
2015
ABSTRACT: Background: Many studies have been underlined as care giving for people with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is highly stressful and has significant negative consequences, such as anxiety and depression. Objective: The specific aim of our study is to establish whether a difference exists in the prevalence of depression of family caregivers of Alzheimer’s disease patients and healthy subjects not caregiver. Methods: Study group (n = 60) consists of caregivers of patients affected by Alzheimer’s disease, whereas control group (n = 120) consists of healthy individuals who are not care giving (from at least 5 years). All the subjects were subdivided on the basis of the following independent variables: sex, age, marital status and educational level. The subjects of study and control groups studied have filled in the following tests: IPAT CDQ e IPAT ASQ Tests by Cattell which describe depression and anxiety. Such tests have been validated on the adult and elderly Italian population. Statistical analysis: Student t test has been applied for the comparison between experimental and control groups. Results: The caregivers show higher levels of anxiety (medium to high, P