A Stroke of Bad Luck

Jonathan Silver, MD reviewing Haley WE et al. Neurology 2015 Mar 31. Cameron JI and Elliott TR. Neurology 2015 Mar 31.

Stroke often compromises the well-being of family caregivers.

Stroke is associated with major emotional, cognitive, and physical problems for the patient, but being a caregiver for a family member who has suffered a stroke may also lead to enormous changes in quality of life. To determine potential long-term adverse effects on family members who care for stroke victims, investigators conducted a population-based, case-control study involving 235 family caregivers and 235 demographically matched noncaregivers. The participants were identified through a national epidemiologic study of stroke incidence and mortality.

Caregivers completed telephone interviews on depressive symptoms, mental and physical health quality of life (QOL), life satisfaction, and leisure satisfaction every 9 months for 36 months following a family member's stroke. Noncaregivers completed similar interviews.

In analyses of longitudinal trajectories, caregivers experienced poorer well-being than noncaregivers on all measures except physical health QOL for 9 months. The differences persisted in life satisfaction for 15 months, depressive symptoms for 22 months, mental health QOL for 31 months, and leisure satisfaction for 36 months.

CITATION(S):

Haley WE et al. Long-term impact of stroke on family caregiver well-being: A population-based case-control study. Neurology 2015 Mar 31; 84:1323.

Cameron JI and Elliott TR.Studying long-term caregiver health outcomes with methodologic rigor. Neurology 2015 Mar 31; 84:1292.