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Table 1 Characteristics of 134 Alzheimer caregivers per categories of self-rated health (SRH) with significant group differences

From: Refining caregiver vulnerability for clinical practice: determinants of self-rated health in spousal dementia caregivers

 

Attainable score of scales

All (n = 134)

Poor/fair SRH (n = 21)

Good SRH (n = 42)

Very good SRH (n = 52)

Excellent SRH (n = 19)

P (between groups)

Demographic factors

 Age, years, mean (SD)

 

74.1 (8.3)

73.9 (9.1)

72.7 (8.4)

75.5 (7.9)

73.8 (7.8)

0.427

 Sex, female, n (%)

 

105 (78.4)

18 (85.7)

33 (78.6)

39 (75.0)

15 (78.9)

0.823

 Higher education, n (%)

 

104 (77.6)

15 (71.4)

31(73.8)

40 (76.9)

18 (94.7)

0.226

Health behaviors

 Body mass index, kg/m2, mean (SD)

 

26.1 (5.5)

28.1 (8.1) 1)

27.1 (4.7) 4)

25.5 (4.9)

23.5 (4.2)

0.026

 Physical activity, score, mean (SD)

0 to 6

3.31 (1.62)

2.71 (1.35) 1) 2)

2.76 (1.28) 4) 5)

3.62 (1.71)

4.37 (1.71)

< 0.001

 Ever smoking, n (%)

 

58 (43.3)

11 (52.4)

16 (38.1)

20 (38.5)

11 (57.9)

0.346

 Alcohol consumption, score, mean (SD)

0 to 6

2.03 (2.26)

1.10 (2.02) 1) 2)

1.50 (1.88) 4) 5)

2.50 (2.36)

2.95 (2.46)

0.009

Physical health indicators

 Physical health problems, score, mean (SD)

0 to 12

1.93 (1.54)

3.00 (1.87) 1) 2) 3)

2.21 (1.54) 4) 5)

1.48 (1.29)

1.37 (1.01)

< 0.001

 Caregiver physical function, z-score, mean (SD)

−2.25 to 0.82

0 (0.81)

−0.84 (0.79) 1) 2) 3)

−0.10 (0.71) 4) 5)

0.25 (0.72)

0.48 (0.56)

< 0.001

Psychosocial factors

 Negative affect, score, mean (SD)

10 to 50

21.0 (6.8)

26.4 (8.5) 1) 2) 3)

19.3 (5.5)

21.3 (6.3) 6)

17.8 (5.4)

< 0.001

 Positive affect, score, mean (SD)

10 to 50

32.4 (7.0)

29.7 (6.1) 1)

30.7 (6.7) 4)

32.7 (6.6) 6)

37.9 (6.9)

< 0.001

 Social support, score, mean (SD)

0 to 24

13.7 (5.4)

12.7 (6.8)

14.9 (4.9)

12.8 (5.1)

14.6 (5.1)

0.183

Caregiving-specific stressors

 Years of caregiving, mean (SD)

 

4.59 (3.54)

5.71 (5.77)

3.90 (2.53)

4.44 (2.82)

5.26 (3.90)

0.215

 Clinical dementia rating, score, mean (SD)

0 to 3

1.29 (0.56)

1.39 (0.58)

1.36 (0.67)

1.22 (0.47)

1.24 (0.48)

0.520

 CR functional impairment, score, %, mean (SD)

0 to 100

65.9 (18.4)

68.9 (21.6)

64.8 (19.6)

64.4 (17.4)

69.3 (15.2)

0.647

 Perceived caregiver burden, score, mean (SD)

12 to 60

32.9 (7.6)

35.2 (7.3)

32.7 (7.1)

32.3 (8.7)

32.4 (5.9)

0.514

 Caregiving-specific stress total, z-score, mean (SD)

−1.91 to 3.14

0.00 (0.66)

0.24 (0.85)

−0.04 (0.68)

−0.08 (0.57)

0.05 (0.57)

0.271

  1. Significant differences between groups of SRH (p < 0.05): 1) poor/fair SRH vs. excellent SRH; 2) poor/fair SRH vs. very good SRH; 3) poor/fair SRH vs. good SRH; 4) good SRH vs. excellent SRH; 5) good SRH vs. very good SRH; 6) very good SRH vs. excellent SRH; CR = care recipient
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BMC Geriatrics

ISSN: 1471-2318

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