Predictors of the one-year-change in depressiveness in informal caregivers of community-dwelling people with dementia

BACKGROUND: The care of people with dementia is usually carried out by their family members, which can cause objective und subjective burden and raise their risk of depressiveness. Thus, the aim of this study is to identify predictors of the change in depressiveness of informal caregivers over 1 year in order to be able to derive hypotheses for interventions that promise success. METHODS: The Bavarian Dementia Survey (BayDem) is a multi-center, longitudinal study conducted at three different sites in Bavaria, Germany. Participants were people with dementia and their informal caregivers. Data was collected at baseline and after 12 months by standardized face-to-face interviews in cooperation with local players. The informal caregivers’ depressiveness was assessed with the WHO-5. Data was also collected on the people with dementia’s cognition (MMSE), behavioral symptoms (NPI) and comorbidities (Charlson Comorbidity Index) as well as caregivers’ social inclusion (LSNS), time spent on care and care contribution (RUD). For statistical analysis, a multiple regression model was used. RESULTS: The data of 166 people with dementia and their informal caregivers was analyzed. Of the latter, 46% were categorized as “likely depressed”. The change in depressiveness over a year was significantly predicted by baseline depressiveness as well as an increase in the time informal caregivers spent supervising the person with dementia. CONCLUSIONS: Informal caregivers of people with dementia are at high risk of depression. The time spent supervising the person with dementia has a significant impact on increasing depressiveness. This highlights the importance of support services to provide the informal caregiver with relief and possibly reduce depressiveness.