Table 2.
Unadjusted and Adjusted Effects of Burden of Dementia and Nondementia Caregiving on the Caregiver
| Variable | Dementia caregivers (N = 117) | Nondementia caregivers (N = 134) | Unadjusted | Model 1 | Model 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stressors | |||||
| Number of ADL problems | 2.99 (2.46) | 1.84 (2.01) | <.0001 | .017 | — |
| Number of IADL problems | 5.82 (1.16) | 4.63 (1.51) | <.0001 | <.0001 | — |
| Number of cognitive and memory problems | 4.91 (1.87) | 1.94 (1.94) | <.0001 | <.0001 | — |
| Number of emotional problems | 2.76 (2.04) | 2.27 (2.11) | .062 | .048 | — |
| Number of disruptive behaviors | 2.09 (1.55) | 1.06 (1.22) | <.0001 | <.0001 | — |
| Total number of problems | 18.57 (4.97) | 11.75 (5.40) | <.0001 | <.0001 | — |
| Appraisals of burden | |||||
| Caregiving strain, M (SD) | 2.28 (0.61) | 1.96 (0.60) | <.0001 | <.0001 | .456 |
| Emotional difficulty, N (%) | 88 (75.2) | 89 (66.4) | .128 | .128 | .521 |
| Physical difficulty, N (%) | 45 (38.5) | 51 (38.1) | .948 | .730 | .081 |
| Financial difficulty, N (%) | 30 (25.6) | 26 (19.4) | .238 | .094 | .596 |
| Perceived stress | 4.98 (2.96) | 4.16 (2.93) | .029 | .058 | .377 |
| Difficulty rating per ADL problem | 0.78 (0.90) | 0.50 (0.79) | .008 | .036 | .412 |
| Difficulty rating per IADL problem | 0.89 (0.84) | 0.73 (0.77) | .124 | .028 | .616 |
| Difficulty rating total number problems | 1.29 (0.81) | 0.96 (0.71) | .0007 | <.0001 | .786 |
| Difficulty rating per cognitive and memory problem | 1.30 (1.08) | 0.61 (0.77) | <.0001 | <.0001 | .020 |
| Difficulty rating per emotional problem | 1.51 (1.17) | 0.99 (1.02) | .0003 | <.0001 | .873 |
| Difficulty rating per disruptive behavior | 1.54 (1.18) | 0.94 (1.21) | <.0001 | <.0001 | .551 |
| Treatment burden, M (SD) | 5.11 (2.27) | 4.01 (2.14) | .0001 | <.0001 | .709 |
| Well-being and health outcomes | |||||
| CES-D | 7.59 (6.39) | 6.17 (6.08) | .072 | .044 | .975 |
| SF-12 MCS | 48.47 (10.46) | 50.54 (10.76) | .125 | .093 | .460 |
| SF-12 PCS | 44.24 (11.58) | 44.15 (10.54) | .840 | .587 | .638 |
| Caregiving worsened health | 38 (33.9) | 20 (15.4) | .003 | .048 | .982 |
| Delay or care recipient health tasks not done | 27 (23.1) | 11 (8.2) | <.0001 | .0001 | .184 |
Notes: ADL = activity of daily living; CES-D = Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale; IADL = instrumental activities of daily living; MCS = mental component score; PCS = physical component score; SD = standard deviation. ADL range 0–8; IADL range 0–7; cognitive and memory problems range 0–7; emotional problems range 0–9; disruptive behaviors range 0–8; the total number of problems range 0–39. Difficulty rating refers to how much a problem bothers or upsets the caregiver and is scored from 0 (not at all) to 4 (extremely). Model 1: Adjusted for age of care recipient, age of care provider, and hours of caregiving. Model 2: Adjusted for age of care recipient, age of care provider, hours of caregiving, and the total number of problems reported by the caregiver. Stressors were not adjusted for the total number of problems.