Department of Psychology, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK.
Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2010 Dec;25(12):1246-52. doi: 10.1002/gps.2461.
People caring for family members who have dementia often experience considerable levels of anxiety and depression. However, relatively little is known about the awareness of carer distress among people with dementia. This study investigated whether or not people with dementia are aware of the level of distress experienced by their carers.
Two groups of participants were studied, a dementia group and a control group of people with arthritis. Each group consisted of pairs of people, the person with dementia or arthritis and the family member who acted as their main carer; 40 pairs participated in total. For both groups, the carer's psychological health was rated by the carer themselves and by the care-recipient, using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. For the dementia group, memory functioning in the person with dementia was rated by the care-recipient themselves and by the carer, using the Memory Function Scale. The ratings made by the carer and care-recipient were compared to give an indication of the level of awareness in the care-recipient.
People with dementia have a significant level of awareness of their carers' state of psychological health. Their awareness follows the same pattern as that shown by a control group of people with arthritis. The level of awareness of carer psychological health shown by the dementia group was not related to their level of awareness of their own memory difficulties.
The clinical implications of awareness of carer distress in people with dementia should be considered.
照顾痴呆症患者的家庭成员通常会经历相当程度的焦虑和抑郁。然而，对于痴呆症患者对照顾者痛苦的意识知之甚少。本研究调查了痴呆症患者是否意识到照顾者所经历的痛苦程度。
研究了两组参与者，一组是痴呆症组，一组是关节炎对照组。每组由两对人组成，一对是痴呆症或关节炎患者，另一对是他们的主要照顾者；共有 40 对参与者。对于两组，照顾者的心理健康由照顾者自己和照顾对象使用医院焦虑和抑郁量表进行评估。对于痴呆症组，痴呆症患者的记忆功能由照顾对象自己和照顾者使用记忆功能量表进行评估。对照顾者和照顾对象的评估结果进行比较，以表明照顾对象的意识水平。
痴呆症患者对其照顾者的心理健康状况有显著的意识。他们的意识与关节炎对照组的意识模式相同。痴呆症组对照顾者心理健康的意识水平与其对自身记忆困难的意识水平无关。
应考虑痴呆症患者对照顾者痛苦的意识的临床意义。
