Objective: The aim of the present study was to analyze the frequency of depression in a cohort of caregivers of patients with Parkinson ́s disease (PD) and identify predictors of the change in mood after a 2-year follow-up.
Background: Caregiver mood in PD has been studied in many cross-sectional studies but poorly in longitudinal ones.
Method: PD patients and their caregivers who were recruited from January/2016 to November/2017 from 35 centers of Spain from the COPPADIS cohort were included in the study. They were evaluated again at 2-year follow-up. Caregivers completed the Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II) at baseline (V0) and at 2-year follow-up (V2). Subjects were classified as with major depression (MD), minor depression (mD), subthreshold depression (subD), or non-depression (nonD). General linear model repeated measure and lineal regression models were applied.
Results: One hundred and ninety-two PD patients (63.96 ± 8.74 years old; 63% males) and their principal caregiver were included. Mean age of the caregiver was 58.82 ± 11.71 years old and 69.3% of them were females. The mean BDI-II total score significantly increased from V0 to V2 by 13.1% (from 6.89 ± 7.8 to 7.79 ± 8.05; p=0.024; Cohen ́s effect size = 0.19) (Figure 1A). The frequency of caregivers with depressive symptoms increased from 44.3% at V0 to 55.7% at V2 (p=0.042), being MD in 13% and 15.1%, respectively (Figure 1B). Caregiver burden and strain was related to caregiver MD both at V0 and at V2 (Figure 2). An increase in neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPI; β=0.279; p<0.0001) and mood impairment (BDI-II; β=0.652; p<0.0001) in patients from V0 to V2 were the most significant factors associated with caregiver ́s mood impairment after the 2-year follow-up (Table 1).
Conclusion: Depression is frequent in caregivers of PD patients. Mood changes in the PD patient is the strongest predictor of mood changes in the caregiver.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
C. Iñiguez Alvarado, D. Santos García, T. Deus Fonticoba, C. Cores, M. Feal Painceiras, E. Suarez Castro, C. Martinez Miró, S. Jesús, M. Aguilar, P. Pastor, L. Planellas, M. Cosgaya, J. García Caldente, N. Caballol, I. Legarda, J. Hernández Vara, I. Cabo, L. López Manzanares, I. González Aramburu, M. ávila Rivera, V. Gómez Mayordomo, V. Nogueira, V. Puente, J. García-Soto, C. Borrué, B. Solano Vila, M. álvarez Sauco, L. Vela, S. Escalante, E. Cubo, F. Carrillo Padilla, J. Martínez Castrillo, P. Sánchez Alonso, M. Alonso Losada, N. López Ariztegui, I. Gastón, J. Kulisevsky, M. Blázquez Estrada, M. Seijo, J. Rúiz Martínez, C. Valero, M. Kurtis, O. de Fábregues, J. González Ardura, R. Alonso Redondo, C. Ordás, L. López Díaz, D. Mcafee, P. Martinez-Martin, P. Mir. Frequency of depression and predictors of mood change among caregivers of Parkinson’s disease patients [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2022; 37 (suppl 2). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/frequency-of-depression-and-predictors-of-mood-change-among-caregivers-of-parkinsons-disease-patients/. Accessed June 15, 2025.« Back to 2022 International Congress
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/frequency-of-depression-and-predictors-of-mood-change-among-caregivers-of-parkinsons-disease-patients/