Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment (Aug 2023)

The Morbidity and Associated Factors of Depression in Caregivers of Patients with Depressive Disorder

  • Lee Y,
  • Lin PY,
  • Huang YC,
  • Chiu NM,
  • Hung CF,
  • Wang LJ

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 19
pp. 1853 – 1864

Abstract

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Yu Lee,1 Pao-Yen Lin,1 Yu-Chi Huang,1 Nien-Mu Chiu,1 Chi-Fa Hung,1 Liang-Jen Wang2 1Department of Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; 2Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, TaiwanCorrespondence: Liang-Jen Wang, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial, Hospital, No. 123, Ta-Pei Road, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, Tel +886-7-7317123 ext. 8753, Fax +886-7-7326817, Email [email protected]: Depressive disorder significantly impacts patients’ daily living activities and quality of life. Caregivers of patients with depression may also suffer from psychological distress related to the chronic burden of caring for the patient’s mood changes. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the morbidity and associated factors of depression in caregivers of patients with depressive disorder.Methods: In this study, we used a cross-sectional design with consecutive sampling. Study subjects were recruited from the psychiatric outpatient clinic of a medical center from August 2021 to June 2022. Caregivers of depressive disorder patients were enrolled and assessed using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Suicide Assessment Scale (SAS), Stigma Scale of the Explanatory Model Interview Catalogue (EMIC), and Family APGAR Index.Results: Of the 120 caregivers that completed the study, 59.2% (n=71) were females. The most common psychiatric diagnosis was depressive disorders (25.8%), followed by anxiety disorders (17.5%) and insomnia disorder (15.8%); 54.2% of the caregivers had a psychiatric diagnosis. Using logistic regression analysis, we found that anxiolytics/hypnotics use (OR=5.58; 95% CI, 1.84– 16.96; p< 0.01), higher suicide risk (SAS) (OR=1.10; 95% CI, 1.05– 1.16; p< 0.001), and lower family support (APGAR scores) (OR=0.82; 95% CI, 0.71– 0.94; p< 0.01) were three significant associated factors.Conclusion: Depression was the most prevalent psychiatric diagnosis in caregivers of patients with depressive disorder. Early psychiatric diagnosis for caregivers of patients with depression is crucial to offering suitable support and treatment and may improve caregivers’ quality of life.Keywords: depression, morbidity, associated factor, caregiver

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