Co-occurring Neuropsychiatric Conditions and Functional Status as Predictors of Caregiver Quality of Life in Older Veterans
Lauren Moo1, victoria ngo1, Elizabeth Chamberlin2, Elizabeth (Beth) Marfeo3, Steven Shirk2
1GRECC, VA Bedford HCS, 2VA Bedford HCS, 3Tufts University Department of Community Health
Objective:
To examine how care recipient functional ability and neuropsychiatric conditions predict caregiver QoL among caregivers of U.S. veterans aged ≥65 years.
Background:
Informal caregivers of older adults frequently experience diminished quality of life (QoL) due to the combined challenges of functional decline and neuropsychiatric conditions in care recipients. Veterans who exhibit high rates of both offer a unique opportunity to understand how these co-occurring factors jointly influence caregiver outcomes.
Design/Methods:
A cross-sectional national survey included 504 informal caregivers of older veterans. Measures included Activities of Daily Living (ADL), Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL), presence of neuropsychiatric conditions (e.g., depression, PTSD, anxiety, neurodegenerative disease), and a Caregiver Quality of Life Questionnaire. Hierarchical linear regressions assessed associations between caregiver QoL and care recipient factors, adjusting for caregiver demographics and cohabitation status.
Results:
Over half of veterans (54%) had a neuropsychiatric condition. Caregivers of these veterans reported lower QoL than those without (mean = 66.7 vs 72.6; p < .001). In adjusted models, higher ADL independence predicted better caregiver QoL (β = .15, p = .002), whereas the presence of any neuropsychiatric condition predicted poorer caregiver QoL (β = –.12, p = .012). Among caregivers of veterans with neuropsychiatric conditions (n = 272), depression was the only specific diagnosis independently associated with lower caregiver QoL (β = –.18, p = .002), even after controlling for functional status.
Conclusions:
Functional limitations and depression in care recipients exert independent, additive burdens on caregiver well-being. Screening and treatment of depression in older patients, coupled with interventions promoting functional independence, may enhance caregiver QoL and reduce downstream stress and healthcare utilization in neurology and geriatric care settings.
Disclaimer: Abstracts were not reviewed by Neurology® and do not reflect the views of Neurology® editors or staff.