[Overload felt by the figure of the main caregiver in a cohort of patients with multiple pathologies].
OBJECTIVE
To determine the profile of the main caregiver (MC) and the factors associated with her/his care burden, in a multi-centre cohort of patients with multiple pathologies (PMP).


METHODS
Multi-centre cross-sectional study.


METHODS
Four health districts in the Virgen del Rocío University Hospitals Health Area, Seville, Spain.


METHODS
The PMP cohort was created by checking all the patients who satisfied the health department criteria for PMP (2002): patients suffering from chronic diseases in 2 or more of the 7 clinical categories defined.


METHODS
The profile of PMP caregiver was determined for all patients. The caregiver strain index (CSI) was determined by the index of care stress (ICS). Predictive factors were analysed by the Student t, ANOVA, and Pearson's tests. Multivariate analysis was performed by a forward stepwise linear regression model.


RESULTS
The interview was attended by 461 (69%) out of 662 eligible PMP. Of these, 293 (63.6%) had an MC whose mean age was 62 (15) years; 80% of them were women. First-degree relatives made up 88% of caregivers, with spouses 49.7% of them (n=146). In 41.5%, the CSI was >7 points (mean CSI was 5.35 [3.5]). This was higher in those caring for PMP with neurological illnesses (7 [3.2 vs 4.5 [3.3]; P=.0001). The CSI was compared directly with the medical vulnerability of the PMP (R=0.37; P=.001), cognitive deterioration on the Pfeiffer scale (PS) (R=0.4; P=.0001), and inversely with functional status on Barthel's scale (BS) (R=-0.67; P=.0001). Patient's age (P=.03), his/her medical vulnerability (P=.016) and functional (P< .0001) and cognitive (P=.019) deterioration were independently associated with the CSI.


CONCLUSIONS
The profile of the MC of the PMP cohort corresponded mainly to first-degree female relatives around sixty years old. The burden of care was high in more than a third of them. Predictive factors were age, medical vulnerability, and the functional and cognitive deterioration of the PMP.
Moreno-Gaviño
Lourdes
L
Unidad Clínica de Atención Médica Integral, Servicio de Medicina Interna, Hospitales Universitarios Virgen del Rocío, Sevilla, España. morenogavinol@hotmail.com
Bernabeu-Wittel
Máximo
M
Alvarez-Tello
Margarita
M
Rincón Gómez
Manuel
M
Bohórquez Colombo
Pilar
P
Cassani Garza
Manuel
M
Ollero Baturone
Manuel
M
García-Morillo
Salvador
S
D000367:Age Factors; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D015897:Comorbidity; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017678:Sex Distribution; D016526:Workload