To Study the Psychiatric Morbidity Amongst Caregivers of Patients of Dementias

Introduction: The global burden of disease is largely caused by health issues related to ageing. Although the majority of deaths in this demographic are caused by chronic diseases, dementia and associated behavioural issues account for a large portion of the years lived with disability. The negative effects of the ongoing care needs on older persons with health issues like dementia are numerous for informal carers (ICs). Aim and Objective: To study the psychiatric morbidity amongst caregivers of patients of dementias. Material and Methods: This was a Hospital based out Patient Department (OPD) study carried out in the Department of Psychiatry for a period of 12 months i.e, February 2023 to Febsuary 2024 where index cases were the consecutive cases of dementia, attending to Psychiatry OPD at a tertiary care centre. Caregivers (Key and Other) of patients of Dementia were identified. These caregivers were assessed for psychosocial stress, quality of life and psychiatric morbidity amongst them due to care giving. The diagnosis of dementia was made by one of the supervisors on the basis of ICD-10 DCR. A minimum of 20 patients of dementia were. Results: In the current study most of the key caregivers (64%) reported severe level of burden followed by moderate burden (36%). All the key care givers reported experiencing burden in care giving. On the other hand the majority of other care givers (85.4%) reported experiencing moderate burden followed by sever burden (8.8%) and no burden (5.8%) on Burden Assessment Schedule. It was also observed that in the overall family burden majority of care givers (68%) reported moderate level of burden followed by sever burden (28%). In the areas of financial, family routine activities, family leisure time, and financial interaction similar amount of burden were reported the majority (60%,72%,60%and76%) reported moderate burden followed by severe burden (32%, 24%, 36% and 16%) respectively. With regard to mental health, majority reported severe level of burden(44%) followed by moderate burden (36%) and no burden (20%). In the area of physical health, majority of the key caregivers reported experiencing no burden at all (80%) followed by moderate level of burden by (20%). Conclusion: The caregiver preparedness, increased social support and social networks, assistance in care, positive appraisal and coping, and satisfaction with healthcare services are associated with reduced depression and stress in ICs. Evidence of these effects is important to plan caregiver interventions to mediate their psychological outcomes. Clinicians should be cognizant of the risk in this group of caregivers and assess and intervene to alleviate caregivers' psychological problems.