Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, San Diego State University/University of California, San Diego, CA, USA.
Psychol Health. 2012;27(10):1134-49. doi: 10.1080/08870446.2011.637559. Epub 2011 Dec 12.
This study examined whether satisfaction from leisure activities moderates the relationship between caregiving demands (i.e., hours per day spent caring for a spouse with dementia) and resting levels of the catecholamines norepinephrine (NE) and epinephrine (EPI). Spousal caregivers (n = 107; mean age = 73.95 ± 8.12 years) were assessed in home for plasma levels of NE and EPI, amount of care provided, and leisure satisfaction. Regression was used to determine whether leisure satisfaction moderated the relationship between hours providing care per day and catecholamine levels. A significant interaction was found between hours caregiving and leisure satisfaction for NE, but not for EPI. Post hoc regressions were conducted for both NE and EPI. At low leisure satisfaction, time spent caring for a spouse was positively associated with plasma NE (β = 0.41; p = 0.005) and EPI (β = 0.44; p = 0.003). In contrast, at high levels of satisfaction, time caregiving was not significantly associated with plasma NE (β = -0.08; p = 0.57) or EPI (β = 0.23; p = 0.12). These findings suggest that leisure satisfaction may protect caregivers from increases in catecholamines, which have been implicated in cardiovascular risk. Further support for these findings may impact psychological treatments for distressed caregivers.
本研究考察了休闲活动的满意度是否调节了照顾需求（即每天照顾痴呆症配偶的时间）与儿茶酚胺去甲肾上腺素（NE）和肾上腺素（EPI）静息水平之间的关系。对 107 名配偶照顾者（平均年龄为 73.95±8.12 岁）进行了家庭评估，评估内容包括血浆去甲肾上腺素和肾上腺素水平、提供的照顾量和休闲满意度。回归用于确定休闲满意度是否调节了每天提供照顾时间与儿茶酚胺水平之间的关系。发现照顾时间与休闲满意度之间存在 NE 的显著交互作用，但 EPI 没有。对 NE 和 EPI 进行了事后回归。在低休闲满意度时，照顾配偶的时间与血浆 NE（β=0.41；p=0.005）和 EPI（β=0.44；p=0.003）呈正相关。相比之下，在高满意度时，照顾时间与血浆 NE（β=-0.08；p=0.57）或 EPI（β=0.23；p=0.12）没有显著相关性。这些发现表明，休闲满意度可能会保护照顾者免受儿茶酚胺增加的影响，儿茶酚胺与心血管风险有关。对这些发现的进一步支持可能会影响对有压力的照顾者的心理治疗。
