Garrido Regiane, Menezes Paulo R
Departamento de Psiquiatria e Psicologia Médica, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas, Santa Casa de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
Rev Saude Publica. 2004 Dec;38(6):835-41. doi: 10.1590/s0034-89102004000600012. Epub 2004 Dec 10.
There is an increasingly number of demented elderly in Brazil but empirical data on the resulting impact on their informal caregivers is still poorly documented. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact on informal caregivers of elderly with dementia.
A cross-sectional study was conducted at a psychogeriatric unit in the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Structured and semi-structured interviews were administered to 49 elderly patients with dementia and their caregivers. The impact on the caregiver was measured using the Zarit Burden Interview.
Most patients were females, had an average score of 12.2 in the Mini Mental State Examination and high incidence of disruptive behavior. Caregivers were predominantly females, generally wives or daughters who lived with their patients. The mean impact score was 32.4 (SD 16.7). Variables statistically associated with the level of impact were: degree of kinship between patient and caregiver (p=0.011); caregiver's psychiatric symptoms (p<0.001), and duration of caregiving role (p=0.001).
A high impact on caregivers of demented elderly who required psychogeriatric intervention was detected. Healthcare providers should be able to provide the needed support to caregivers in order to minimize problems to both patients and their caregivers.
巴西痴呆老年人数日益增加，但关于这对其非正式照料者所产生影响的实证数据记录仍不完善。本研究旨在评估痴呆老年人对非正式照料者的影响。
在巴西圣保罗市的一个老年精神科病房进行了一项横断面研究。对49名老年痴呆患者及其照料者进行了结构化和半结构化访谈。使用扎里特负担访谈量表来衡量对照料者的影响。
大多数患者为女性，简易精神状态检查表平均得分为12.2分，且破坏性行为发生率较高。照料者主要为女性，通常是与患者同住的妻子或女儿。平均影响得分为32.4（标准差16.7）。与影响程度在统计学上相关的变量有：患者与照料者之间的亲属关系程度（p = 0.011）；照料者的精神症状（p < 0.001），以及照料角色的持续时间（p = 0.001）。
研究发现，需要老年精神科干预的痴呆老年人对照料者产生的影响很大。医疗保健提供者应能够为照料者提供所需支持，以尽量减少对患者及其照料者双方的问题。
