The Caregivers' Burden in Parkinson's disease

J Korean Neurol Assoc > Volume 23(3); 2005 > Article

Journal of the Korean Neurological Association 2005;23(3): 335-340.

파킨슨병 환자를 돌보는 가족의 부담감

김성렬, 정선주 임주혁 이명종

울산대학교 의과대학 서울아산병원 신경과

The Caregivers' Burden in Parkinson's disease

Sung Reul Kim

Department of Neurology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea

Abstract

Background: Caring for patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a burden to caregivers since currently available treatment modalities for PD depend on symptomatic treatments. However, there have only been a few studies regarding the caregivers of PD patients. The authors investigated the burden, depression, and anxiety of the caregivers of PD patients.
Methods: Fifty-three main caregivers of PD patients were included. The burden, anxiety, and depression of the caregivers were evaluated using the Zarit Burden Inventory (ZBI), the Spielberger State-trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Beck Depression Inventory.
Results: Twenty-one male and 32 female patients had a mean age 61.4 years and a mean disease duration of 7.5 years. The caregivers included 29 men and 24 women with a mean age of 55.8 years. The sex of the patients (male) and caregivers (female), the relation to the patient (daughter-in-law), and frequency of hospital visits were all significantly associated with the caregiver’s burden. Among the disease characteristics, the duration, severity of PD, presence of motor fluctuation, and levodopa-associated confusion/hallucination affected the caregivers’ burden significantly. The level of depression and anxiety was positively correlated with the level of burden. On a stepwise regression analysis, the significant predictors of the caregivers’ burden were A이, UPDRS IV, and state anxiety in order of strength.
Conclusions: The caregivers’ burden in PD was affected by various demographic and disease characteristics, which also correlated with the level of depression and anxiety. We suggest that comprehensive treatment strategies for PD should be developed for the caregivers as well as the patients.KeyWords:Parkinson's disease, Caregiver, Burden, Depression, Anxiety