The Caregivers' Burden in Parkinson's disease

Kim, Sung Reul; Chung, Sun Ju; Im, Joo Hyuk; Lee, Myoung Chong

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Caring for patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) is a burden to caregivers since currently available treatment modalities for PD depend on symptomatic treatments. However, there have only been a few studies regarding the caregivers of PD patients. The authors investigated the burden, depression, and anxiety of the caregivers of PD patients. METHODS: Fifty-three main caregivers of PD patients were included. The burden, anxiety, and depression of the caregivers were evaluated using the Zarit Burden Inventory (ZBI), the Spielberger State-trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Beck Depression Inventory. RESULTS: Twenty-one male and 32 female patients had a mean age 61.4 years and a mean disease duration of 7.5 years. The caregivers included 29 men and 24 women with a mean age of 55.8 years. The sex of the patients (male) and caregivers (female), the relation to the patient (daughter-in-law), and frequency of hospital visits were all significantly associated with the caregiver's burden. Among the disease characteristics, the duration, severity of PD, presence of motor fluctuation, and levodopa-associated confusion/hallucination affected the caregivers' burden significantly. The level of depression and anxiety was positively correlated with the level of burden. On a stepwise regression analysis, the significant predictors of the caregivers' burden were ADL, UPDRS IV, and state anxiety in order of strength. CONCLUSIONS: The caregivers' burden in PD was affected by various demographic and disease characteristics, which also correlated with the level of depression and anxiety. We suggest that comprehensive treatment strategies for PD should be developed for the caregivers as well as the patients.