title: Longitudinal study of the mental health of caregivers caring for elderly patients with dementia: effect of institutional placement on mental health.
abstract: One hundred and three family caregivers of relatives with dementia were longitudinally surveyed to examine the course of caregivers' mental health after the relatives had been placed in full-time care facilities. Mental health was assessed twice, with a 6-month interval, using the Japanese version of the 60-item General Health Questionnaire. The degree of social dysfunction was significantly reduced within 6 months after placement, while the other indicators of mental health (e.g. anxiety-insomnia, depression, somatic symptom and psychiatric morbidity) were not reduced within this term. However, anxiety-insomnia and psychiatric morbidity were significantly reduced more than 6 months after placement. Analyses by caregivers' lineal relations to the relatives indicated that only daughters-in-law showed a significant decrease in anxiety-insomnia and a marginal reduction in psychiatric morbidity. This study suggests that caregivers' social dysfunction was more greatly reduced than anxiety-insomnia and psychiatric morbidity within a relatively short term after placement, and that its effects on mental health might vary with the lineal relations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Faculty of Education, Tokyo Gakugei University, Japan.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Matsuda
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hasebe
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ikehara
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Futatsuya
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Akahane
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D003704:Dementia; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007326:Institutionalization; D007564:Japan; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D007319:Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D012920:Social Behavior Disorders / Q000523:psychology