Department of Preventive Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Korea.
Institute of Health Services Research, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Korea.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Dec 23;18(1):42. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18010042.
This study identifies the effects of transitions in caregiving status on depressive symptoms among middle-aged or older adults who care for family members with limitations in activities of daily living (ADL). Data were collected from the 2006-2018 Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging. A total of 7817 subjects were included. On the basis of their caregiving status transition, participants were categorized into four groups: started caregiving, continued caregiving, stopped caregiving, and noncaregivers. Depressive symptoms were measured using the 10 item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Analysis using a generalized estimating equation model and subgroup analyses were conducted. Compared to noncaregivers, women who started caregiving showed more depressive symptoms in the following year (β 0.761, < 0.0001). Regardless of sex, older adults who continued caregiving had more depressive symptoms than noncaregivers did (β 0.616, < 0.0277 in men, and β 1.091, < 0.0001 in women). After relinquishing caregiving responsibilities to other caregivers, participants' depressive symptoms in the following year showed no statistically significant difference from that of noncaregivers. Thus, starting or continuing caregiving was associated with increased depressive symptoms, and those symptoms could be normalized by stopping caregiving. Intervention strategies to reduce family caregivers' depressive symptoms are needed.
本研究旨在探讨中年或老年人群在照顾日常生活活动受限的家庭成员时，其照顾者身份转变对抑郁症状的影响。数据来自 2006-2018 年韩国老龄化纵向研究。共纳入 7817 名受试者。根据其照顾者身份转变情况，将参与者分为四组：开始照顾者、持续照顾者、停止照顾者和非照顾者。使用 10 项流行病学研究抑郁量表来衡量抑郁症状。采用广义估计方程模型进行分析，并进行了亚组分析。与非照顾者相比，开始照顾者的女性在次年表现出更多的抑郁症状（β 0.761，<0.0001）。无论性别如何，持续照顾者的老年人比非照顾者的抑郁症状更严重（男性中β 0.616，<0.0277，女性中β 1.091，<0.0001）。在将照顾责任转交给其他照顾者后，参与者在次年的抑郁症状与非照顾者相比无统计学差异。因此，开始或持续照顾与抑郁症状增加有关，停止照顾可以使这些症状正常化。需要采取干预策略来减轻家庭照顾者的抑郁症状。
