Dementia Care Research and Psychosocial Factors

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Gerontology
• Psychology

Background:

• Informal caregivers play a crucial role in supporting the growing elderly population with neurocognitive disorders.
• The demands of caregiving impact caregiver well-being, yet effects on cognition are not well understood.
• This study addresses the scarcity of research on informal caregiver cognitive performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review scientific evidence on the cognitive performance of informal caregivers.
• To identify demographic and clinical variables associated with informal caregiver cognition.
• To assess if informal caregiving is a risk factor for cognitive decline.

Main Methods:

• A systematic review was conducted following the PRISMA protocol.
• Literature search was performed across Web of Science, Scopus, and PubMed.
• Data were collected from studies published between 2014 and December 1st, 2023.

Main Results:

• Analysis of 14 empirical articles revealed that 78.57% reported cognitive decline in informal caregivers.
• A smaller percentage (14.29%) showed improved cognitive status, and 7.14% found no significant differences.
• The majority of caregivers were older females, often spouses, with chronic stress linked to cognitive performance, especially executive functions.

Conclusions:

• Informal caregiving for individuals with neurocognitive disorders is not an isolated risk factor for cognitive decline.
• The interplay of caregiving-associated variables significantly influences cognitive outcomes.
• Timely management of caregiving-related factors is crucial to mitigate the increased likelihood of cognitive decline.