Revista Brasileira de Geriatria e Gerontologia (Nov 2019)

Oxidative stress among informal caregivers

  • Natália Ramos Imamura de Vasconcelos,
  • Gilsenir Maria Prevelato de Almeida Dátilo,
  • Agnaldo Bruno Chies,
  • Eduardo Federighi Baisi Chagas,
  • Thiago José Querino de Vasconcelos,
  • Pedro Marco Karan Barbosa

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1590/1981-22562019022.190037
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 22, no. 4

Abstract

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Abstract Objective: to evaluate oxidative stress and non-enzymatic antioxidant defenses in informal caregivers, and correlations with anxiety, health satisfaction and quality of life. Method: a case-control analytical study was performed, where the case was represented by the main informal caregiver and the control was paired with individuals with identical characteristics to the case, but who were not informal caregivers. The following instruments were used: a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Beck anxiety scale and the WHOQoL-Bref. Oxidative stress was measured through blood by analysis of the Ferric Reducing Ability of Plasma (FRAP) and Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances (TBARS) markets. Results: most informal caregivers were females. There was no difference in the degree of anxiety between the Case and Control groups. Among informal caregivers, 9.4% said they were very dissatisfied and 53.1% dissatisfied with their health. Most caregivers (43.8%) rated their quality of life as poor and 12.5% as very poor, while most controls rated it as good (68.8%). The TBARS and FRAP values were lower in the Case group than in the Control group. Conclusion: The informal caregivers, who were mostly women, defined themselves as dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with their health. Nevertheless, they did not manifest a higher degree of anxiety in comparison with the control population. In addition, they presented a lower degree of oxidative stress than the non-caregiving participants, perhaps due to a greater mobilization of the non-enzymatic antioxidant defenses present in the body.

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