Emotional Responses and Anticipatory Grief Among Family Caregivers of Alzheimer's Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study.

OBJECTIVE

Alzheimer's disease is the most common type of dementia among older adults, and the caregiving process imposes significant physical, social and emotional burdens on family members. This study aimed to evaluate the emotional responses and anticipatory grief experienced by family caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's disease.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study included 257 primary family caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's disease registered at the Ankara Bilkent City Hospital Home Healthcare Unit. Data were collected using a Sociodemographic Questionnaire and the Marwit-Meuser Caregiver Grief Inventory-Short Form (MM-CGI-SF). Normality was assessed using the Shapiro-Wilk test. Pearson or Spearman correlation analyses were applied as appropriate. Caregiver burden was dichotomised based on the median MM-CGI-SF score and examined using multivariable logistic regression analysis (Backwards LR). p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

RESULTS

The median age of caregivers was 56 (range: 25-77) years, and 63.8% were female. Female caregivers, those cohabiting with the patient, and caregivers of patients with moderate-to-severe disease reported significantly higher burden scores. In logistic regression analysis, increasing age and longer time since diagnosis were associated with a lower likelihood of high caregiver burden, whereas female gender, higher disease severity, higher income relative to expenses and cohabitation with the patient were independent predictors of high burden.

CONCLUSION

Family caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's disease experience substantial emotional burden and anticipatory grief. Caregiver burden appears to be shaped more by disease-related and psychosocial factors than by caregiving duration alone. Integrating caregiver assessment and psychosocial support into primary care is essential, with family physicians playing a central role in early identification and intervention.