Prevalence and factors associated with the burden of caregivers of older adults with post‐COVID syndrome

Abstract Background Post‐Covid syndrome is related to functional, cognitive, psychological and physical impairments in older adults, which has been associated with caregiver burden. Method Cross‐sectional study nested within a prospective cohort, which recruited participants aged 60 and over, and their respective caregivers, twelve months after laboratory diagnosis of Covid‐19. The project was approved by UFMG’s ethics committee. The Zarit Burden Interview and Hamilton depression scales were used to assess caregiver burden and depression, respectively. d. Caregiver burden was categorized as present with a cutoff of 15 points. The Chi‐Square and Mann Whitney tests were used for categorical and continuous variables, respectively. Variables with a p value <0.2 were subjected to multivariate analysis using the backward method. The SPSS statistical package, version 25.0, was used. Result 52 participants and their respective caregivers were evaluated. Among the participants, 60.8% were hospitalized, had a mean age of 72.39±9.1 years, education of 7.67±4.7 years and 51% were female. Caregivers had a mean age of 55.27±15.9 years, education of 10.9±4.8 years, 76.5% were female, 92.1% were spouses or children, 64% lived with the participant and 44% had income between 1 and 2 minimum wages. The prevalence of caregiver burden was 54.2%, being 42.3% of these cases of moderate intensity. An association was observed, in univariate analysis, with the caregiver’s depressive symptoms OR = 1.331 (95%CI 1.109‐1.598; p‐value<0.001), participant’s depressive symptoms OR = 5.429 (95%CI 1.285‐22.941; p‐value = 0.005) and living with the elderly OR = 3.073 (95%CI 1.299‐7.269; p‐value = 0.004). After multivariate analysis, only the caregiver’s depressive symptoms showed an association OR = 1.331 (95% CI 1.109‐1.598; p‐value = 0.002). Conclusion The prevalence of burden among caregivers of elderly people with Post‐Covid Syndrome was high and was associated with caregiver’s depressive symptoms, indicating the need for long‐term support and assessment of this population.