Abstract

Background: Caregivers of Alzheimer’s disease patients are usually subject to a variety of psychological, physical and economic burdens, due to the substantial time and energy required for this task. This study investigates the effect of socio-demographic factors on the depression of Saudi caregivers of Alzheimer’s patients and the role of social support in diminishing such depression and increasing life satisfaction.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed based on a questionnaire involving 154 Saudi caregivers for Alzheimer’s patients. Respondents were distributed across different age groups, gender, income levels and educational backgrounds.
Results: Analysis revealed that depression caused by caregiving is higher in male caregivers than females. Caregivers who had higher economic status, i.e., earned a higher income, were more depressed. Younger caregivers were more depressed than older ones. Analysis showed that support from family, friends and significant others is vital for caregivers’ satisfaction in life. Caregivers with better life satisfaction are less depressed.
Conclusions: This study showed that depression arising from caregiving to Alzheimer’s patients was significantly influenced by socio-demographic factors, especially gender, economic income and age of caregivers. Another important point drawn from this study was that social support from family members, friends, neighbors, and an especially significant other can improve the caregiver’s life satisfaction.