Anxiety and depression symptoms among caregivers of care-recipients with subjective cognitive decline and cognitive impairment

BACKGROUND: Caregivers of care-recipients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia experience high caregiver burden; however, the psychiatric burden of caregivers of care-recipients with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) has not been investigated. We aimed to explore the prevalence of and risk factors for anxiety and depression symptoms among the caregivers of care-recipients with SCD and cognitive impairment. METHODS: The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was used to examine the anxiety and depression symptoms among the caregivers of 343 care-recipients (84 with SCD, 120 with MCI and 139 with dementia) treated at the Memory Clinic of Huashan Hospital in Shanghai, China from May 2012 to October 2014. A logistic regression was used to explore the factors associated with caregiver’s anxiety and depression symptoms. RESULTS: In total, 26.5 % of caregivers had anxiety symptoms, and 22.4 % had depression symptoms. Totals of 17.9, 30.0 and 28.8 % of caregivers of care-recipients with SCD, MCI or dementia, respectively, had anxiety symptoms (P = 0.1140), whereas 22.6, 24.2 and 20.9 %, respectively, had depression symptoms (P = 0.8165). The risk factors for caregiver’s anxiety symptoms were increased caregiver age as well as having care-recipients who were male, had higher Cohen Mansfield Agitation Inventory (CMAI) scores, and higher Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) scores. The risk factors for caregiver’s depression symptoms were increased caregiver age as well as caring for care-recipients with MCI or SCD, those with lower Toronto Empathy Questionnaire (TEQ) scores, and those with higher GDS scores. CONCLUSIONS: Caregivers of care-recipients with SCD showed the same level of depression symptoms as those of care-recipients with MCI. Caregiver’s depression and anxiety symptoms were associated with their care-recipients’ psychiatric and behavioral syndromes.