Department of Social Science, Center for Gerontology and Social Science, National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Aichi, Japan; Department of Public Health, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Aichi, Japan.
Department of Rehabilitation and Care, Seijoh University, Aicihi, Japan.
Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2021 Sep-Oct;96:104468. doi: 10.1016/j.archger.2021.104468. Epub 2021 Jun 23.
Novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic could increase the mental health burden of family caregivers of older adults, but related reports are limited. We examined the association between family caregiving and changes in the depressive symptom status during the pandemic.
This cross-sectional study included 957 (mean age [standard deviation] = 80.8 [4.8] years; 53.5% females) community-dwelling older adults aged ≥ 65 years from a semi-urban area of Japan, who completed a mailed questionnaire. Based on the depressive symptom status assessed with the Two-Question Screen between March and October 2020, participants were classified into four groups: "non-depressive symptoms," "incidence of depressive symptoms," "remission from depressive symptoms," or "persistence of depressive symptoms." Participants were assessed in October 2020 for the family caregiving status, caregiving role, the severity of care recipients' needs, and increased caregiver burden during the pandemic, each with the simple question. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was applied to obtain the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for changes in depressive symptom status.
Compared to non-caregivers, family caregivers were associated with the incidence (OR [95% CI] = 3.17 [1.55-6.51], p < 0.01) and persistence of depressive symptoms (OR [95% CI] = 2.39 [1.30-4.38], p < 0.01). Primary caregivers, caregivers for individuals with severe care needs, and caregivers with increased burden during the pandemic had a high risk of depressive symptoms.
Family caregivers had a high risk of depressive symptoms during the pandemic. Our findings highlight the need for a support system for family caregivers.
新型冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行可能会增加老年人家庭照顾者的心理健康负担，但相关报告有限。我们研究了在大流行期间家庭照顾与抑郁症状变化之间的关系。
这项横断面研究纳入了日本半城市地区 957 名（平均年龄[标准差]为 80.8 [4.8] 岁；53.5%为女性）年龄≥65 岁的社区居住老年人，他们完成了邮寄问卷。根据 2020 年 3 月至 10 月期间使用两问题筛查评估的抑郁症状状态，将参与者分为四组：“无抑郁症状”、“出现抑郁症状”、“抑郁症状缓解”或“抑郁症状持续存在”。2020 年 10 月评估了家庭照顾者的状态、照顾角色、照顾对象需求的严重程度以及大流行期间照顾者负担的增加，每个问题都采用简单问题进行评估。采用多变量逻辑回归分析获得抑郁症状状态变化的比值比（OR）和 95%置信区间（CI）。
与非照顾者相比，照顾者与抑郁症状的发生（OR [95%CI] = 3.17 [1.55-6.51]，p < 0.01）和持续存在（OR [95%CI] = 2.39 [1.30-4.38]，p < 0.01）相关。主要照顾者、照顾严重需求个体的照顾者和大流行期间负担增加的照顾者发生抑郁症状的风险较高。
在大流行期间，家庭照顾者发生抑郁症状的风险较高。我们的研究结果强调了为家庭照顾者提供支持系统的必要性。
