Stress of caregivers of dementia patients in the Singapore Chinese family

Abstract

In a study of 50 family caregivers of elderly Chinese patients with dementia in Singapore, 28 (56%) scored five points or more on the 28-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). The GHQ scores correlated significantly with duration of care; presence of delusion, hallucination, depression, insomnia, incontinence and agitation; and the total score of the Behavioural Pathology in Alzheimer's Disease Rating Scale. On multiple regression analysis the only variables to achieve a significant relationship with the GHQ scores were duration of care, depression and the total behavioural score.