Cited by 133Dementia and Cognitive Impairment ResearchNursing care and researchFamily Caregiving in Mental Illness

Alzheimers’ disease and caregiving: a meta-analytic review comparing the mental health of primary carers to controls

Ma, Mandy, Dorstyn, Diana, Ward, Lynn, Prentice, Shaun·2018·Aging & Mental Health

Abstract

Objectives To quantitatively review the literature comparing depressed mood, anxiety and psychological distress in caregivers (CGs) of older adults with Alzheimer's disease (AD) with non-caregivers (NCGs) Methods: Eighteen independent studies comparing AD CGs (N = 2378) with NCGs (N = 70,035) were evaluated in accordance with the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) guidelines. Standardised mean differences (Hedges' g) with associated 95% confidence intervals and p-values were calculated using a random-effects model. Results Studies generally conformed to STROBE criteria in terms of their methodological and procedural detail, although data management issues that may contribute to methodological bias were identified. Pooled effect estimates revealed medium to large group differences in depression (g w = 1.01 [CI: 0.73, 1.29] p w = 0.64 [CI: 0.39, 0.89] p w = 1.58 [CI: 1.11, 2.05], p Discussion Caregivers of patients with AD experience poor mental health in comparison to the general population, with female caregivers being disproportionately affected. Further exploration of the psychosocial variables that contribute to these group differences is needed to inform effective support services and, in turn, help caregivers manage the emotional demands of AD.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1080/13607863.2017.1370689

Cites

122 of 122 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

This paper’s full text isn’t openly available, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • A meta-analysis reported that caregivers of people with dementia were significantly more likely to experience depression and anxiety than non-caregivers.

    “A meta‐analysis reported that caregivers of people with dementia were significantly more likely to experience depression and anxiety than non‐caregivers. 452”

    From 2024 Alzheimer's disease facts and figures (2024) · cites this paper as [452]

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

1 of the 123 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Ma, M., Dorstyn, D., Ward, L., & Prentice, S.
Affiliations
The University of Adelaide (AU)
Corresponding author
Dorstyn, Diana
Venue
Aging & Mental Health
Published
2017-09-05
Volume
22
Issue
11
Pages
1395-1405
ISSN
  • 1360-7863 (ISSN-L)
  • 1364-6915
OpenAlex
W2751156782
Cited by
133
References
123
Citations by year
2026: 9 · 2025: 19 · 2024: 17 · 2023: 17 · 2022: 21 · 2021: 23 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 1
FWCI
6.07
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Aging & Mental Health (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
Dementia Training Australia
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › Pharmacy › Nursing care and research
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Family Caregiving in Mental Illness
Keywords
Alzheimer's disease, caregiver mental health, primary caregivers, depression, anxiety, psychological distress, gender differences, older adults, caregiver burden
MeSH terms
Alzheimer Disease, Anxiety Disorders, Depressive Disorder, Humans, Stress, Psychological, Caregivers, Observational Studies as Topic

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review