Journal of Korean Geriatric Psychiatry

노인정신의학

pISSN 1226-6329 / eISSN 2733-4600


노인정신의학

대한노인정신의학회 (26권1호 39-45)

Association of Caregiver Burden With Malnutrition Among Spousal Caregiver of Cognitive Impairment

인지기능 저하 환자의 배우자 부양자에서 부양 부담과 영양상태와의 관계

So Yeon Jeon, MD, PhD and Jeong Lan Kim, MD, PhD

Abstract

Objective: Among old adults, caring for a spouse with cognitive decline is well-known to be associated with significant risk to the caregiver’s health such as cardiovascular disease, depression and, especially, cognitive impairment. It is important to understand the caregiving-related risk factors for caregiver’s cognitive decline. Therefore, in this study, we examined the impact of caregiver’s burden on the modifiable lifestyle factors influencing cognitive decline among spousal caregivers (SCGs), focusing on nutritional status which contribute to SCG’s cognitive decline.
Methods: A total of 44 subjects were included in the analysis. As clinical assessment, we evaluated the care burden (Zarit Burden Interview), depression (Geriatric Depression Scale), sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index), cognitive function (Mini-Mental State Examination, MMSE) physical activity (International Physical Activity Questionnaire), and nutritional status (Mini Nutritional Assessment).
Results: High Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) score and low MMSE score were significantly correlated with increased care bur- den. The SCG’s caregiving burden was significantly associated with the risk of malnutrition and increased level of depressed mood. These significant relationships unchanged even after adjusting for care-recipient’s MMSE or NPI score.
Conclusion: This study provides substantial evidence that SCGs of cognitive impairment are at risk for depression and malnutri- tion, which can further affect cognitive decline. As such, these factors should be well assessed and monitored among SCGs for patient with cognitive impairment.

Keywords

Dementia; Spouses; Caregiver burden; Malnutrition; Depression.