Quality of Life of Caregivers in Parkinson's Disease

Objective: To assess the impact of PD on informal caregivers of patients and identify the main factors related to caregiver strain. Patients and methods: Pairs of PD patients and their caregivers. Evaluation by neurologists included the Hoehn and Yahr, Schwab and England, UPDRS (parts 1-3), ISAPD, a...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Quality of life research 2005-03, Vol.14 (2), p.463-472
Main Authors: Pablo Martínez-Martín, Julián Benito-León, Fernando Alonso, Ma. José Catalán, M. Pondal, I. Zamarbide, A. Tobías, J. de Pedro
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Activities of daily living
Aged
Caregivers
Caregivers - psychology
Cross-Sectional Studies
Depressive disorders
Disabilities
Female
Humans
Male
Mental illness
Middle Aged
Nervous system diseases
Neurology
Parkinson disease
Parkinson Disease - nursing
Parkinson's disease
Quality of Life
Rating scales
Regression analysis
Spain
Studies
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Objective: To assess the impact of PD on informal caregivers of patients and identify the main factors related to caregiver strain. Patients and methods: Pairs of PD patients and their caregivers. Evaluation by neurologists included the Hoehn and Yahr, Schwab and England, UPDRS (parts 1-3), ISAPD, and Pfeiffer's SPMSQ rating scales. Patients completed the Euro-QoL 5D, PDQ-8, and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. The SQLC was used to assess caregivers' quality of life (QoL), with caregivers, in turn, applying the Euro-QoL and PDQ-8 to assess patients' health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Multiple linear regression models were fitted to ascertain factors linked to the SQLC. Results: Significant correlations were in evidence between the following scores: SQLC and clinical rating scales and SQLC and patients' HRQoL. Based on multiple regression analysis, patients' functional state (ADL) proved to be the main predictor of caregivers' QoL. Self- and caregiver-assessed patients' HRQoL also proved to be a relevant factor. Conclusions: (1) Patients' functional state was significantly related to caregivers' psychosocial burden; (2) patients' HRQoL proved to be an additional factor linked to caregiver QoL; (3) improvement of patient disability and HRQoL might alleviate caregiver strain.
ISSN:0962-9343
1573-2649
DOI:10.1007/s11136-004-6253-y