Caregiver burden assessment in primary congenital glaucoma

To assess the magnitude of caregiver burden and depression in primary caregivers of patients with primary congenital glaucoma.

Fifty-five primary caregivers of children diagnosed with primary congenital glaucoma were evaluated. The magnitude of burden on caregivers was assessed using a Caregiver Burden Questionnaire (CBQ). The overall aggregate burden and burden across 3 domains-socioeconomic, emotional, and psychological-was evaluated. Depressive symptomatology was evaluated using a Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) standard questionnaire and graded from mild to severe.

The mean age of the presenting children was 8.11±46.71 months; all of them were male. The mean age of the study participants was 33.6±8.36 years (53 female, 2 male). Thirty-nine (71%) individuals were identified to have moderate aggregate burden and 3 (5%) had severe aggregate burden. Twelve (22%) subjects were noted to have moderate depression, while 6 of them (11%) had either severe or very severe grades of depression.

Caregivers of patients with primary congenital glaucoma have significant emotional and psychological burden. Moderate to severe depression may be present in one-third of individuals giving primary care to children with congenital glaucoma.