Perceived stress and depressive symptoms not neuropsychiatric symptoms predict caregiver burden in Alzheimer's disease: a cross-sectional study

Caregiver burden affects the caregiver's health and is related to the quality of care received by patients. This study aimed to determine the extent to which caregivers feel burdened when caring for patients with Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and to investigate the predictors for caregiving burden. A cross-sectional study was conducted. One hundred two caregivers of patients with AD at Maharaj Nakorn Chiang Mai Hospital, a tertiary care hospital, were recruited. Assessment tools included the perceived stress scale (stress), PHQ-9 (depressive symptoms), Zarit Burden Interview-12 (burden), Clinical Dementia Rating (disease severity), Neuropsychiatric Inventory Questionnaires (neuropsychiatric symptoms), and Barthel Activities Daily Living Index (dependency). The mediation analysis model was used to determine any associations. A higher level of severity of neuropsychiatric symptoms (r = 0.37, p