Geriatric depression and alexithymia in family caregivers of patient with dementia: A cross sectional study

TARTAGLINI, M.F.; CARUSO, D.; HERMIDA, P.D.; FELDBERG, C.; SOMALE, M.V.; STEFANI, D.

Los Ángeles

Conferencia; Alzheimer´s Association International Conference; 2019

Alzheimer´s Association

Background: Caring for patients with dementia is a stressful process for caregivers which increases the risk of physical and mental problems, among which depressive disorders stand out. Aim: To determine the prevalence and predictors of Geriatric Depression and Alexithymia in elderly people. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted. A non-probability, purposive sampling strategy was used. The sample was comprised of 230 elderly adults of both sexes. We compared two groups:family caregivers of patients with dementia (n = 115) and non-caregivers (n =115). They were evaluated in individual interviews using the following measures: a socio-demographic questionnaire (ad hoc), an adaptation of the Geriatric Depression Scale created by Yesavage (V-15) and the Latin American Consensual Toronto Alexithymia Scale LAC (TAS-20). Measures of central tendency and of dispersion were obtained to describe the socio-demographic variables and Geriatric Depression and Alexithymia, and the Spearman´s rho correlation coefficient was used to measure the degree of association between Geriatric Depression and Alexithymia. Two logistic regression models were constructed to assess the association between predictors with alexithymia and depression. An error probability minor or equal to 0.05 was established. Data were analyzed by SPSS statistical software version 21.0. Results: The median age was 71 years (IQR 66 to 77), the participants were mostly women (72.5%), married (67.05%), with secondary education (31.6%) and retired (64.7%).The median GDS score was 2 (IQR 1 to 5) for non-caregivers and 5 (IQR 3 to 7) for caregivers, p value 0.001.In the multivariate model to determine predictors of depression, those who were caregivers had almost four times the chance of being depressed, OR 3.73 (CI 95% 2.00   6.94; p value 0.000). We also found a correlation between the presence of Alexithymia and Geriatric Depression (Spearman´s rho= 0.38, p value 0.0001). Conclusions: Family caregivers are under diagnosed patients. Assessing levels of Geriatric Depression on its initial stages allows for proper diagnoses and treatment, in order to preserve the family caregiver's well-being. Therefore, the evaluation of these subjects in parallel with the patient's medical consultation is recommended.