MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH MEASURES IN A LARGE COHORT OF INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE REGULAR CAREGIVERS OF PERSONS WITH DEMENTIA

K. Johnson¹, D. Levine², E. Cruz³, A. Lasner¹, P. Lien¹

¹Johns Hopkins Medicine, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Baltimore, United States, ²The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Physical Therapy, Chattanooga, United States, ³The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Occupational Therapy, Chattanooga, United States

Background: Caregivers of persons with Alzheimer’s disease/dementia (AD/D) are critical partners in optimizing patient care, however this partnership cannot be optimized if caregivers are not in good mental and physical health.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine mental and physical health measures in a large cohort of individuals who are regular caregivers of persons with AD/D. The hypothesis was that the mental and physical health of individuals who are caregivers of persons with AD/D would be worse than individuals who do not provide regular care.

Methods: A data set obtained from the 2019 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), gathering geographically proportional data across the US was utilized. This is the most recent dataset available that includes caregivers. Mental and physical health measures was adapted from the short-form 36 health survey (SF-36), and included, “During the past 4 weeks, have you had 14 or more days of poor mental health”, and “During the past 4 weeks, have you had 14 or more days of poor physical health”. The sample included 1,012 caregivers of individuals with AD/D in the United States (US), and 408,689 individuals who are not regular caregivers.

Results: Caregivers were predominately female (66.4%). The percentage of caregivers of individuals with AD/D that reported 14 or more days per month that their mental health was not good was 19.7% compared to non-caregivers 12.1%, Mantel-Haenszel Chi-Square Test = 7.1, p < 0.001, Odds Ratio 1.8 (95% CI 1.5-2.1). The percentage that reported 14 or more days per month that their physical heath was not good was 18.6% compared to non-caregivers 10.7%, Mantel-Haenszel Chi-Square Test = 3.8, p < 0.001, Odds Ratio 1.4 (95% CI 1.0 - 1.6 95% CI).

Conclusions: Caregivers of individuals with AD/D had significantly more days of poor mental and physical health compared to non-caregivers.

Implications: Appropriate strategies to screen for and assist the health and well-being of caregivers could be utilized within the PT profession to identify those with needs and support them in accessing resources. This data demonstrates the need for PTs to consider the mental and physical health of caregivers when developing a comprehensive plan of care for persons with AD/D. It also poses additional questions about how PTs can screen caregivers to optimize their health.

Funding acknowledgements: There is no funding to acknowledge

Keywords:
Caregiver
Dementia
Mental Health

Topics:
Mental health
Service delivery/emerging roles
Community based rehabilitation

Did this work require ethics approval? No

Reason: Data set was obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with only aggregate data reported. No individual data is used.