[Protective and risk factors predicting caregiver psychological distress in people with advanced Parkinson's disease]

Neurological diseases are one of the main contemporary challenges in advanced societies. Parkinson's disease (PD) is one of the most common neurological diseases causing disability. It is a health problem associated with a decrease in personal autonomy. It causes an imbalance in family functioning, with a negative impact on quality of life. The objective was to identify risk factors associated with the psychological burden of the caregiver.

Prospective ex post facto research conducted with a sample of 106 caregivers of persons with PD, who were administered a socio-demographic questionnaire, the NEO-FFI (personality) and COPE-28 (coping strategies) inventories, and an adaptation of the Katz index to assess involvement in care. A structured diagnostic instrument (CORE-OM) was used as a dependent variable.

Multiple regression analysis identified high neuroticism; poor caregiver perception of health; poor caregiver perception of health; non-adaptive coping strategies; and PD disability as risk factors. In turn, adaptive coping strategies and caregiver time may act as protective factors. The resulting model explains 57.1% of the variance in caregiver psychological distress.

These results help explain why some people adapt better than others to the burden of care. The findings highlight the importance of identifying the variables that influence the quality of care for people with this disease.