Geriatric Unit, Department of Internal Medicine and Geriatrics, University of Palermo, Via del Vespro 141, 90127, Palermo, Italy.
Centre for Health Performance and Wellbeing, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, CB1 1PT, UK.
Aging Clin Exp Res. 2022 Oct;34(10):2255-2260. doi: 10.1007/s40520-022-02160-6. Epub 2022 Jun 13.
Interest in physical and mental health outcomes in caregivers of patients with dementia is increasing. However, there is limited data available on the prevalence of suicidal ideation, suicidal attempts, and suicide rates among caregivers of those with dementia. Therefore, we aimed to systematically review these outcomes to address this gap in the literature and thus provide information to inform future policy and intervention for the benefit of caregivers of dementia patients.
We searched several databases from inception to the 10 November 2021, for studies investigating suicidal ideation, suicidal attempts, and suicide rates of caregivers of patients with dementia. We report data regarding suicidal ideation as prevalence, with the 95% confidence intervals (CIs), applying a random-effect model; since less than three studies were available for suicide attempt and suicide, these data are reported descriptively.
Among 194 articles, eight comprising 1,209 informal caregivers of people with dementia (mean age: 63.9 years, 74% females) were included. The prevalence of suicide ideation was 32.32% (95% CI: 16.01-48.64%; I = 98.5%, p < 0.0001). The prevalence of suicide ideation varied between studies from 4.69% to 77.78%. Two studies reported the rate of suicidal attempt in caregivers of patients with dementia, with the prevalence ranging from 5.9% to 16.1%. One study reported one in 17 caregivers of patients with dementia died by suicide.
The prevalence of suicide ideation is high, affecting several caregivers of patients with dementia. These findings suggest intervention and/or policy are urgently needed to address suicidal behavior in this at-risk population.
人们对痴呆症患者照顾者的身心健康结果越来越感兴趣。然而，关于痴呆症患者照顾者中自杀意念、自杀企图和自杀率的患病率数据有限。因此，我们旨在系统地回顾这些结果，以填补文献中的这一空白，从而为痴呆症患者照顾者提供信息，为未来的政策和干预措施提供信息。
我们从成立到 2021 年 11 月 10 日，在几个数据库中搜索了调查痴呆症患者照顾者自杀意念、自杀企图和自杀率的研究。我们报告自杀意念的患病率，用 95%置信区间（CI）表示，采用随机效应模型；由于关于自杀企图和自杀的数据少于三项，因此这些数据是描述性报告的。
在 194 篇文章中，有 8 篇文章包括 1209 名痴呆症患者的非正式照顾者（平均年龄：63.9 岁，74%为女性）。自杀意念的患病率为 32.32%（95%CI：16.01-48.64%；I=98.5%，p<0.0001）。自杀意念的患病率在研究之间从 4.69%到 77.78%不等。两项研究报告了痴呆症患者照顾者的自杀企图率，患病率范围从 5.9%到 16.1%。一项研究报告了 17 名痴呆症患者中有 1 名自杀。
自杀意念的患病率很高，影响了一些痴呆症患者的照顾者。这些发现表明，迫切需要对这一高危人群的自杀行为进行干预和/或制定政策。
