Recurrent depressive symptomatology and physical health: A 10-year study of informal Caregivers of persons with dementia

Objective: To examine the degree to which recurrent depressive symptomatology predicts the decline in the health status of a randomly derived national sample of caregivers of persons with dementia. Method: Individuals with dementia and their caregivers were recruited from each Canadian province as part of a national epidemiologic study of dementia prevalence and the health and welfare of care providers. Both patients and caregivers were assessed at 3 points over a 10-year period. Cohabiting family members who shared the same residence as care recipients were selected for the current study (n = 96 pairs). We computed a repeated measures analysis of variance to compare the health of caregivers who were consistently asymptomatic for depression, of those symptomatic at 1 of 3 points of measurement, and of those symptomatic at 2 of 3 points. Results: As hypothesized, caregivers presenting with elevated depressive symptomatology at multiple points of measurement reported poorer and worsening physical health over time. Conclusions: The results of this study support the assertion that depressive symptomatology significantly predicts the decline in health status of caregivers of persons with dementia. Concerted effort to treat depression in this population is warranted to forestall this trajectory of decline and premature patient institutionalization.