title: Anxiety and depression are associated with coping strategies in caregivers of Alzheimer's disease patients: results from the MÁLAGA-AD study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Caregiving for people with Alzheimer's disease (AD) is highly stressful and has significant negative consequences, such as anxiety and depression. Previous research offers conflicting findings as to whether coping strategies are associated with greater psychological distress or not. We conducted this study with a view to obtaining new data regarding the association of coping strategies and psychological distress in AD caregivers.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eighty people with AD and their primary caregivers living in the community were recruited from local health services. Purposive recruitment was carried out to ensure that the sample was representative of people living with dementia in terms of dementia severity, gender, and care setting. We used the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory to measure anxiety, the Beck Depression Inventory to measure depression, and the Coping Strategies Inventory to measure coping strategies.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Most caregivers reported higher anxiety and depression levels. Use of disengagement coping strategies (Wald = 3.35, p = 0.01) and higher caregiver burden (Wald = 4.83, p = 0.02) predicted anxiety on logistic regression. In turn, use of disengagement coping strategies (Wald = 12.48, p = 0.001) and higher caregiver burden (Wald = 6.91, p = 0.009) predicted depression on logistic regression.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results may be useful for designing treatment interventions that aim to modify the use of coping strategies and thus reduces caregiver anxiety and depression.
authors.affiliation: Memory and Alzheimer's Disease Unit, Instituto Andaluz de Neurociencia y Conducta, Málaga, Spain. jmgalberca@ianec.com
authors.forename: José María
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: García-Alberca
authors.forename: Belén
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cruz
authors.forename: José Pablo
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Lara
authors.forename: Victoria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Garrido
authors.forename: Almudena
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lara
authors.forename: Esther
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gris
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000523:psychology; D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000523:psychology*; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology; D013030:Spain; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications