EVALUATION OF EMOTIONAL CHANGES IN THE MOTHERS OF PATIENTS WHO HAVE A DIAGNOSIS of FAMILIAL MEDITERRANEAN FEVER

Aim: The chronic diseases of childhood affect significantly on those who take careof them. Mostly this is the duty of mothers. Mothers are the primary caretakers,so they may have psychological problems. There are limited numbers of studies onthe depression of mothers who take care of the children with Familial MediterraneanFever. Aim of the study was to investigate depression levels and factors related todepression in mothers of children with Familial Mediterranean Fever.Material and Methods: The mothers of children diagnosed with Familial Mediterraneanfever, aged between 24 and 54 years, educated and voluntarily wanted to jointhe research were selected (n:53). Socieodemographic and clinic data form and BeckDepression Inventory form were given to them.Results: The mean beck depression inventory score was 16.36.8. According to theclassification of Beck Depression Inventory, 35.8% of mothers had minimal depression,32.1% had mild, 26.4% had moderate and 5.7% had severe depression. A weak positiverelationship was found between the Beck Depression Inventory score and the numbersof child in the family. The mean attack of Familial Mediterranean Fever in the lastyear was statistically and significantly high in those mothers who were depressed thanwho were not.Conclusion: The level of depression in the mothers of children diagnosed with FamilialMediterranean Fever was close to the cut-off point of Turkish standards (17 points).The severity of the Familial Mediterranean Fever and the depression of the motherswere having a parallel relationship. Children of depressed mothers were having moreFamilial Mediterranean fever episodes.