Zhao Weijia, Zeng Jing, Li Shuaiqi, Chen Sheju
School of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China.
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China.
Front Nutr. 2025 May 30;12:1513609. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1513609. eCollection 2025.
Private caregivers are common in developing countries as supplements to healthcare human resources. However, the effects of private caregivers on inpatient conditions remain unclear. This study explored the effect of private caregivers on nutritional risk and anxiety in patients with dysphagia after ischemic stroke.
This observational study included patients with dysphagia after ischemic stroke between 2022 and 2024 in central China. Participants were divided into non-caregiver and private caregiver groups. A single-factor analysis was used to explore the differences between the baseline assessments of the two groups. We then used propensity score matching (PSM) to balance significant baseline variables, including anxiety at admission, and demographic and clinical characteristics. In the matched sample, we used the average treatment effect on the treated (ATT) to uncover the influence of the patient groups on nutritional risks and anxiety on day 10.
A total of 2,234 patients were included, and there were 766 cases in the private caregiver group. Before PSM, there were significant reductions in anxiety (47.00 vs. 32.86%, < 0.001) and nutritional risks (100.00 vs. 70.55%, < 0.001) from days 1 to 10. After PSM, there were no significant differences in any baseline assessments, and 766 pairs of cases were successfully captured. The ATT analysis showed that before and after PSM, there was no significant correlation between groups and nutritional risks (30.75 vs. 29.41%, = 0.573), but there was a significant correlation between groups and anxiety on day 10 (34.89 vs. 23.40%, ATT = 0.234 after matching, < 0.001).
Private caregivers can effectively reduce anxiety in hospitalized patients with dysphagia following ischemic stroke, but they do not have a significant impact on nutritional risks.
在发展中国家，私人护理人员作为医疗人力资源的补充很常见。然而，私人护理人员对住院患者病情的影响尚不清楚。本研究探讨了私人护理人员对缺血性中风后吞咽困难患者营养风险和焦虑的影响。
本观察性研究纳入了2022年至2024年中国中部地区缺血性中风后吞咽困难的患者。参与者被分为无护理人员组和私人护理人员组。采用单因素分析探讨两组基线评估的差异。然后，我们使用倾向得分匹配（PSM）来平衡显著的基线变量，包括入院时的焦虑以及人口统计学和临床特征。在匹配样本中，我们使用处理组的平均治疗效果（ATT）来揭示患者组对第10天营养风险和焦虑的影响。
共纳入2234例患者，私人护理人员组有766例。在PSM之前，从第1天到第10天，焦虑（47.00%对32.86%，<0.001）和营养风险（100.00%对70.55%，<0.001）显著降低。PSM后，任何基线评估均无显著差异，成功匹配了766对病例。ATT分析表明，PSM前后，组间与营养风险无显著相关性（30.75%对29.41%，=0.573），但在第10天组间与焦虑有显著相关性（34.89%对23.40%；匹配后ATT = 0.234，<0.001）。
私人护理人员可有效降低缺血性中风后吞咽困难住院患者的焦虑，但对营养风险无显著影响。
