The prevalence of psychological impact on caregivers of hospitalized patients: The forgotten part of the equation

Introduction: Despite the large number of caregivers suffering from various psychiatric disorders, research on psychological symptoms among caregivers of hospitalized patients is lacking in Saudi populations. Objectives: The objective of this study is to determine the prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress among caregivers of hospitalized Saudi patients. Methods: A cross-sectional study of depression, anxiety and stress among caregivers of hospitalized patients was conducted. Arabic speaking caregivers (n = 353) between the ages of 14 and 80 years were included in the study. The Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21) test (Arabic version) was used to measure the three psychological symptoms. Results: The study has shown high rates of depression, anxiety and stress among caregivers (72.8%, 76.5%, and 61.5%, respectively). Depression was found to be associated with long-term hospital stay (81.4% vs. 69.3%; p-value = 0.021) and family caregivers (75.4% vs. 46.9%, p-value = 0.001). Anxiety was found to be associated with family caregivers (78.8% vs. 53.1%; p-value = 0.001). The three psychological symptoms were higher among those with an age above 20 years old (p-value <0.05). Multivariate logistic models show the risk of the psychological symptoms increased with low-income, higher education, immediate relation to the patient, and older caregivers. Conclusions: The findings suggest that the prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress symptoms were very common among caregivers. The results showed that approximately 8 out of 10 caregivers suffer from at least one psychiatric disorder. Older, low socioeconomic status, and well-educated caregivers were identified as being at higher risk of developing psychiatric symptoms.