Patient depression and caregiver attitudes: Results from the AgeD in HOme care study

Background: The present cross-sectional study was aimed to evaluate the association between care recipient depression and caregiver attitudes. Methods: Data were from The AgeD in HOme Care project, a study enrolling subjects aged >= 65 years receiving home care in Europe. Depression was diagnosed as a score >= 3 on the MDS Depression Rating Scale. Caregiver attitudes were assessed using two measures: 1) caregiver dissatisfaction (the caregiver was dissatisfied with the support received from family and friends); and 2) caregiver distress (the caregiver expressed feelings of distress, anger, or depression). Results: Mean age of 3415 participants was 82.4 years, 2503 (73.3%) were women and 430 (12.6%) were depressed. Dissatisfaction was significantly more common among caregivers of depressed, compared with those of non depressed patients (32/ 430, 7.4% vs. 78/2985, 2.6%; p=<0.001). After adjusting for potential confounders, patient depression was still significantly associated with caregiver dissatisfaction (OR: 1.84; 95% Cl: 1. 12-3.03). Similarly, distress was significantly more common among caregivers of depressed patients, compared with those of non depressed patients (81/430, 18.8% vs. 175/2985, 5.9%; p