The relationship between dementia caregivers and quality of life in South Korean populations

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between quality of life and dementia caregivers. The 2019 Korean Community Health Survey participants were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, subjective cognitive decline (SCD) and SCD-related functional limitation, and EuroQol 5-dimension (EQ-5D). Sociodemographic and psychosocial variables were evaluated and compared between participants with dementia caregivers (n = 37,614) and non-dementia caregivers (n = 140,518). The dementia caregivers group reported significantly higher rates of depression, SCD, SCD-related functional restriction, and mean EQ-5D compared to the non-dementia caregivers group (P < .001). After adjusting for multiple confoundings, the odds ratio (OR) for depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9 ≥ 10), SCD, SCD-related functional limitation, and lowest quartile of the EQ-5D index scores in the dementia caregivers group were 1.43 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.29–1.59), 1.30 (95% CI: 1.24–1.36), 1.26 (95% CI: 1.20–1.32), and 1.22 (95% CI: 1.16–1.29), respectively. Physical activity (OR: 1.47; 95% CI: 1.43–1.52), self-control (OR: 1.41; 95% CI: 1.35–1.47), daily activity (OR: 1.55; 95% CI: 1.50–1.60), pain (OR: 1.62; 95% CI: 1.58–1.67), and anxiety/depression (OR: 2.17; 95% CI: 2.10–2.24) were all more common among participants in the dementia caregivers group than in the non-dementia family caregivers group. Depression, SCD, and a lower quality of life are linked to dementia caregivers, especially if there is moderate to severe anxiety or depression.