Table 2.
Comparisons of stress, social support, and depression symptoms between case and control groups at baseline by sex
| Female | p value | Male | p value | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Case (n = 44) | Control (n = 45) | Case (n = 11) | Control (n = 16) | |||
| No. of hours taking care of their spouse | 14.3 ± 6.4 | 2.5 ± 4.39 | <0.0001 | 12.8 ± 5.0 | 2.56 ± 6.3 | <0.0001 |
| Perceived stress score | 19.4 ± 8.3 | 16.5 ± 6.7 | 0.080 | 18.9 ± 9.4 | 14.7 ± 5.9 | 0.164 |
| Caregiver Strain Index | 7.5 ± 3.4 | 1.0 ± 1.5 | <0.001 | 7.6 ± 2.2 | 2.1 ± 2.6 | <0.0001 |
| Geriatric depression score | 7.1 ± 3.9 | 5.3 ± 3.6 | 0.023 | 6.6 ± 4.0 | 4.4 ± 3.0 | 0.106 |
| Total multidimensional social support score | 4.8 ± 1.3 | 5.2 ± 1.2 | 0.107 | 4.0 ± 1.9 | 4.8 ± 1.6 | 0.390 |
| Subscale—family | 5.6 ± 1.1 | 6.1 ± 1.1 | 0.035 | 5.5 ± 1.3 | 5.8 ± 1.0 | 0.564 |
| Subscale—friend | 4.4 ± 1.8 | 4.6 ± 1.8 | 0.599 | 4.3 ± 1.7 | 4.6 ± 1.4 | 0.642 |
| Subscale—significant others | 4.4 ± 2.0 | 5.1 ± 1.6 | 0.101 | 4.6 ± 1.4 | 5.0 ± 1.0 | 0.260 |
| Physical activity (min/week) | 271.1 ± 264.5 | 411.2 ± 190.1 | 0.005 | 202.7 ± 189.4 | 336.3 ± 218.0 | 0.112 |
| Albumin (g/l) | 43.4 ± 2.7 | 44.4 ± 2.6 | 0.083 | 43.6 ± 2.2 | 43.6 ± 3.8 | 0.954 |
Independent sample t test was used to compare the differences between the two groups. Differences in the percentage between the two groups were compared by chi-square test