Anxiety and Depression Associated With Caregiver Burden in Caregivers of Stroke Survivors With Spasticity

Abstract Objective To investigate the relationship between anxiety/depression and caregiver burden in informal caregivers of stroke survivors with spasticity. Design Data were collected via online surveys from informal caregivers 18 years or older who cared for stroke survivors. Setting Internet-based survey. Participants 2007 through 2009 U.S. National Health and Wellness Survey database or Lightspeed Research general panel respondents (N=153). Interventions Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures Anxiety and depression were self-reported by the caregiver as a physician diagnosis. Depression severity was measured by the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Caregiver burden was measured by the Oberst Caregiving Burden Scale (OCBS) and the Bakas Caregiving Outcomes Scale (BCOS). Logistic regression analyses were conducted with anxiety, depression, and the PHQ-9 depression severity categories as a result of each caregiver burden scale. Results Data were analyzed for 153 informal caregivers; they were mostly women (70.6%) and white (78.4%), with a mean age of 51.6 years. For every 1-point increase in the OCBS Difficulty Scale, the odds of anxiety or depression were 2.57 times as great ( P