Caring for Older Dependent People in Low- and Middle-Income Countries- Effects of Caregiver Age upon Their Mental Health

Ruttana Phetsitong , Mahidol University
Patama Vapattanawong, Mahidol University
Martin J. Prince, Institute of Psychiatry
Kia-Chong Chua, King's College London
Rosie Mayston, King's College London

Demographic ageing has contributed to a decrease in available young caregivers resulting in older caregivers having to serve caring roles. Caregiver’s mental health is one of the crucial issues for socio-economic development in the ageing population, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. This study aimed to examine effects of caregiver age on the level of mental health in terms of psychological morbidity and care burden among caregivers of older dependent people households in six countries of Latin America and China. The secondary data analysis was performed using the 10/66 Dementia Research Group baseline phase surveys of dementia and ageing in low- and middle-income countries. A total of 1,348 older people households with care need and had a caregiver of the seven countries were included for data analysis. Psychological morbidity was measured with the Self-Reporting Questionnaire. Care burden was assessed using the Zarit Burden Inventory. Binary logistic regression models were applied to investigate the effects of caregiver age on their mental health in each country. Meta-analysis was used to obtain pooled estimates by different countries. The unadjusted and adjusted models found that there were no statistically significant differences in levels of psychological morbidity and care burden between older caregivers and non-older caregivers across countries. The adjusted pooled estimates, however, indicated lower psychological morbidity among older caregivers (OR=0.61, 95%CI=0.41-0.93, I2=0.0%). Caring responsibilities can be stressful at any age. Understanding the caregiver’s age-group differences and associated factors with caregiver mental health is critical to better serving and supporting caregivers of any age.

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 Presented in Session P2. Poster Session Ageing, Health and Mortality