Stress, Burden, and Well-Being in Dementia and Non-Dementia Caregivers: Insights from the Caregiving Transitions Study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Few population-based studies have directly compared caregivers of persons with dementia to caregivers of persons with other disabilities (non-dementia caregivers). We enrolled dementia and non-dementia caregivers who were providing substantial and sustained care and compared these groups on measures of caregiver stressors, appraisals of burden, and well-being. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Caregivers (N = 251) who provided continuous care for at least one year and at least five hours per week were recruited from the population-based Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study. Caregivers reported on dementia caregiving status, stressors, burden, and well-being. RESULTS Forty-seven percent (n=117) reported caring for a person with dementia. Dementia caregivers reported more stressors, providing more care for self-care and behavioral problems than non-dementia caregivers. Dementia caregivers also reported higher appraisals of stress and burden, and more depressive symptoms, but did not differ from non-dementia caregivers on mental and physical health quality of life. In multivariable adjusted models, adjustment for total number of care recipient problems attenuated differences between dementia and non-dementia caregivers on burden and depression measures. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS Dementia and non-dementia caregivers showed relatively few differences in indicators of overall well-being in this population-based sample, perhaps because both groups of caregivers in this study were providing substantial care. Dementia caregivers may require special assistance with dementia-specific problems such as behavioral problems. Clinical interventions and policy changes targeting highly burdened caregivers are needed to support them in allowing their care recipients to age in place at home.