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Living with dementia: increased level of caregiver stress in times of COVID-19
Cohen G, Russo MJ, Campos JA, Allegri RF.. International psychogeriatrics, 2020-07-30
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
COVID-19 pandemic in Argentina has affected the care of older adults with dementia deeply. Our objective was to study how the obligatory social isolation affected stress caregiver and burden of care of family members of subjects living with dementia in the community after the initial 4 weeks of quarantine in our setting. We did a questionnaire survey among 80 family caregivers of persons with Alzheimer's disease (AD) or related dementia collected on April 2020. We designed a visual analog scale to test the level of the burden of care. Characteristics of people with dementia and their caregivers were analyzed with descriptive (mean, standard deviation, frequency and percent) and inferential statistics (chi-square test). The sample included older adults (mean age: 80.51 ± 7.65) with different stages of dementia. Family was the primary provider of care in 65%. Overall, COVID-19 confinement increased stress caregiver independently of the dementia stage, but those caring for severe cases had more stress compared to milder forms of the disease. Other findings were that half of the subjects with dementia experienced increased anxiety and that most family members discontinued all sort of cognitive and physical therapies. Family members' main concerns were for severe dementia cases, fear of absence of the paid caregiver during the epidemic, and for mild cases fear of spreading the disease while assisting patients with instrumental activities. A partnership between departments of public health, care workers and families must be planned to guarantee continuity of care during these unique COVID-19 times.
Key findings
- Overall, COVID-19 confinement increased stress caregiver independently of the dementia stage, but those caring for severe cases had more stress compared to milder forms of the disease.
Why it matters
This survey of 80 family caregivers in Argentina found that COVID-19 confinement increased caregiver stress regardless of the dementia stage, with more stress among those caring for severe cases. It is about caregiver experience during the pandemic and does not test any treatment for dementia.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 46/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, 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 psychogeriatrics) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | International Psychogeriatrics: journal h-index 161 (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 | 2 / 5 | 2020 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| 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 | 5 / 7 | Cited 226 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 28.2 citations a year over 8 year(s) since 2020 |
| Impact for its field and year | 5 / 6 | Cited 29.3× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 1 / 6 | Cited by 1 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 44 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Ricardo Allegri: h-index 53 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 0 / 3 | Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia: institution h-index 163 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 0 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 1 institution(s) in 1 country — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete) |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 32729446) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 46 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1017/s1041610220001593
- PubMed: 32729446
- Original source →
- Free full text: International Psychogeriatrics →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
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
Cohen, G., Russo, M. J., Campos, J. A., & Allegri, R. F. (2020). Living with dementia: increased level of caregiver stress in times of COVID-19. International psychogeriatrics. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1041610220001593
Vancouver
Cohen G, Russo MJ, Campos JA, Allegri RF. Living with dementia: increased level of caregiver stress in times of COVID-19. International psychogeriatrics. 2020. doi:10.1017/s1041610220001593. PMID: 32729446.
BibTeX
@article{cohen2020-32729446,
author = {Cohen, G. and Russo, M. J. and Campos, J. A. and Allegri, R. F.},
title = {{Living with dementia: increased level of caregiver stress in times of COVID-19}},
journal = {International psychogeriatrics},
year = {2020},
doi = {10.1017/s1041610220001593},
pmid = {32729446},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1017/s1041610220001593}
}
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