title: Factors associated with symptoms of depression among informal caregivers of demented elders in the community.
abstract: This study assessed variables associated with increased severity of depressive symptoms among 321 informal caregivers of demented subjects living in the community identified by a Canadian national population-based survey. Measures included patient and caregiver demographic variables; patient behavioral disturbance, activities of daily living, and cognitive impairment; living arrangement, and duration of disease. Depressive symptoms were measured with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Multiple regression analyses indicated that a higher CES-D score was significantly associated with three caregiver characteristics (being a spouse or child of the patient, self-identified ethnicity other than English and French Canadian, and lower education), and two patient characteristics (greater behavioral disturbance and moderate to severe functional impairment).
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Meshefedjian
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: McCusker
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bellavance
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Baumgarten
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002170:Canada / Q000453:epidemiology; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D003704:Dementia; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors