Consumption of Drugs and Nonpharmacological Therapies in Caregivers of Patients with Alzheimer's Disease: A Case-Control Study in Madrid

BACKGROUND: Dementia is a neurodegenerative disease whose prevalence is rising, and the need for assistance to patients becomes indispensable. The different types of dementia and their treatments have been widely studied; however, the health status of caregivers also requires our attention. OBJECTIVE: The aim of our research was to evaluate whether caregivers of patients with dementia consume more medications than the general population, indicating underlying pathologies. METHODS: A total of 91 caregivers of dementia patients were interviewed and their answers were compared with those from a control group of 48 people, taking into account demographic data, characteristics of patients and caregivers, pharmacological and nonpharmacological treatments and burden. RESULTS: Caregivers showed a significantly higher consumption of anxiolytics, antidepressants and antiplatelets (22.3, 13.2 and 11%, respectively) than the control group (14.6, 0 and 0%, respectively). Moreover, 45.1% of the caregivers used nonpharmacological therapies compared with 6.2% of the control group. There was a tendency to take more medications in those caregivers suffering from burden and those who had to take care of patients with behavioral changes. CONCLUSION: Caregivers of dementia patients need more pharmacological and nonpharmacological therapies. They are a risk group that needs better care from the health system.