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Gender differences in burden and depression among informal caregivers of demented elders in the community
Gallicchio L, Siddiqi N, Langenberg P, Baumgarten M.. International journal of geriatric psychiatry, 2002-02-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Background Earlier studies have yielded inconsistent findings regarding gender differences with respect to burden and depression among informal community caregivers of dementia patients. Objectives The aim of the study was to determine whether or not there were gender differences in the prevalence of burden and depression among informal caregivers of community-residing dementia patients. Methods Data from 259 female and 68 male caregivers who were part of the Canadian Study of Health and Aging were analyzed. Depressive symptoms were measured using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies--Depression Scale (CES-D). Burden was assessed using Zarit's Burden Interview. Associations between the outcome variables (depressive symtoms and burden) and the independent variable, gender, were examined using logistic regression. Results In multivariable analysis, female caregivers were found to have significantly higher odds than male caregivers of having a score of 33 or higher on Zarit's Burden Interview (OR=2.6; 95% CI 1.0, 6.7). The OR comparing women to men with respect to a high level of depressive symptoms (defined as a score of 16 or more on the CES-D) was not significant (OR=1.3; 95% CI 0.6, 2.9). Poor perceived caregivers health and more behavior disturbance in the patient were associated with significantly higher odds of high levels of caregiver burden and depression. Conclusions Adequate assistance must be given to women caregivers to ensure that they are not strained beyond what is clinically healthy. In addition, interventions should target caregivers of behaviorally disturbed patients as well as caregivers who report poor physical health to reduce the negative psychological impact of caregiving.
Key findings
- Results In multivariable analysis, female caregivers were found to have significantly higher odds than male caregivers of having a score of 33 or higher on Zarit's Burden Interview (OR=2.6; 95% CI 1.0, 6.7).
- The OR comparing women to men with respect to a high level of depressive symptoms (defined as a score of 16 or more on the CES-D) was not significant (OR=1.3; 95% CI 0.6, 2.9).
- Poor perceived caregivers health and more behavior disturbance in the patient were associated with significantly higher odds of high levels of caregiver burden and depression.
Why it matters
Among 327 informal dementia caregivers, women reported significantly higher burden than men, but the difference in high depressive symptoms was not significant. This means female caregivers may face greater burden, while poor caregiver health and patient behavior problems were linked to both burden and depression.
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Study details
- Effect sizeOR=2.6; OR=1.3
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 47/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (International journal of geriatric psychiatry) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry: journal h-index 190 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2002 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 3 / 3 | Effect reported with a statistic (interval, p-value, ratio or similar) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 367 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 14.1 citations a year over 26 year(s) since 2002 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 6.3× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 9 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 30 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Mona Baumgarten: h-index 43 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | University of Maryland, Baltimore: institution h-index 970 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | PubMed indexes it as a multicentre study |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 11813279) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 47 / 100 | — |
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Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Gallicchio, L., Siddiqi, N., Langenberg, P., & Baumgarten, M. (2002). Gender differences in burden and depression among informal caregivers of demented elders in the community. International journal of geriatric psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.538
Vancouver
Gallicchio L, Siddiqi N, Langenberg P, Baumgarten M. Gender differences in burden and depression among informal caregivers of demented elders in the community. International journal of geriatric psychiatry. 2002. doi:10.1002/gps.538. PMID: 11813279.
BibTeX
@article{gallicchio2002-11813279,
author = {Gallicchio, L. and Siddiqi, N. and Langenberg, P. and Baumgarten, M.},
title = {{Gender differences in burden and depression among informal caregivers of demented elders in the community}},
journal = {International journal of geriatric psychiatry},
year = {2002},
doi = {10.1002/gps.538},
pmid = {11813279},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.538}
}
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