Department of Neurology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
School of Medicine, Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland, Oregon, USA.
Brain Behav. 2024 Jan;14(1):e3361. doi: 10.1002/brb3.3361.
Neurodegenerative diseases lead to difficulties with functional activities. In Peru, most caregivers are family members. Little is known about the COVID-19 pandemic's effect on caregivers in Peru.
This was a cross-sectional, prospective study of family caregivers of dependent patients with dementia or Parkinson's Disease in Lima, Peru. A caregiver burden and mental health questionnaire was administered to the caregiver.
We enrolled 48 caregivers (65% females, mean ± SD age 49.0 ± 12.3 years); 70% of patients had dementia. Nearly 40% of caregivers reported having full-time jobs, and 82% felt overwhelmed with almost 75% dedicating more time to caregiving during the pandemic. Caregivers perceived patients felt lonelier (52%), had an increase in hallucinations (50%), or forgetfulness (71%) compared to pre-pandemic.
Our study highlights that perceived caregiver burden and patient behavioral symptoms may have been exacerbated during the pandemic. In countries such as Peru, more caregiving resources and interventions are needed.
神经退行性疾病导致功能活动困难。在秘鲁，大多数照顾者是家庭成员。关于 COVID-19 大流行对秘鲁照顾者的影响知之甚少。
这是一项在秘鲁利马对痴呆或帕金森病依赖患者的家庭照顾者进行的横断面、前瞻性研究。对照顾者进行了照顾者负担和心理健康问卷的调查。
我们共招募了 48 名照顾者（女性占 65%，平均年龄 ± 标准差为 49.0 ± 12.3 岁）；70%的患者患有痴呆症。近 40%的照顾者有全职工作，82%的人感到不知所措，几乎 75%的人在大流行期间投入更多时间照顾患者。与大流行前相比，照顾者认为患者感到更加孤独（52%）、出现幻觉（50%）或健忘（71%）。
我们的研究表明，在大流行期间，照顾者的负担和患者的行为症状可能会加剧。在秘鲁等国家，需要更多的照顾资源和干预措施。
