The impact of caregiving on anxiety and depression symptoms in caregivers of hospitalized geriatric patients

Objective: Research focusing on anxiety and depression among caregivers of hospitalized geriatric patients is lacking. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of anxiety and depression among caregivers of hospitalized geriatric patients for 1 week. Subjects and Methods: A prospective cohort study of caregivers of geriatric patients who were hospitalized at Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital was conducted from February to May of 2018; levels of anxiety and depression symptoms were assessed on the 1^st day of hospitalization compared with those from the 7^th day using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale questionnaire. The analysis was conducted using SPSS Statistics for bivariate and multivariate logistic regression. Results: On the 1^st day of hospitalization, 29.1% of the caregivers had mild anxiety symptoms, 5.1% had moderate anxiety symptoms, and 2.6% had mild depression symptoms. On the 7^th day, 44.4% of the caregivers had mild anxiety symptoms, 23.1% had moderate anxiety symptoms, and 3.4% had severe anxiety symptoms, whereas 49.6% had mild and 12.8% had moderate depression symptoms. The duration of caregiving ≥8 h/day (P = 0.041; odds ratio [OR]: 4.228; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.060-16.860 for anxiety and P = 0.008; OR: 8.392; 95% CI: 1.723-40.880 for depression) and ≥6 days/week (P = 0.019; OR: 2.500; 95% CI: 1.163-5.375 for anxiety and P < 0.001; OR: 4.184; 95% CI: 1.982-9.256 for depression) significantly increased symptoms of anxiety and depression. Conclusion: Caregiving for hospitalized geriatric patients can aggravate anxiety and depression, and the duration of caregiving ≥8 h/day and ≥6 days/week significantly increased both symptoms.