A Cross-Sectional Study of Burden and Psychiatric Morbidity in Caregivers of Mood Disorder Patients in a Rural Tertiary Teaching Hospital

Arun PVSS and Ryali VSSR

Published on: 2025-09-10

Abstract

Introduction: Global Burden of Disease Study 2017 reports around 310 million people suffering from mood disorders. Family members are the primary caregivers for the majority of persons with mental illness. Looking after their physical and financial needs causes caregivers to experience a burden which in turn leads to psychiatric morbidities. The present study aims to assess the caregiver burden and associated psychiatric morbidities in caregivers of patients with mood disorders attending a rural tertiary teaching hospital.

Methodology: This was an observational cross-sectional study conducted on 62 primary caregivers of patients with mood disorders who are aged 18 years and above and providing care for at least 1 year. Burden Assessment Schedule (BAS) was used to assess caregiver burden and Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) was used to screen for psychiatric morbidities.

Results: Among the caregivers, most were males (56.45%), illiterates (41.94%), belonged to lower socio-economic class (53.23%), and spouses of the patient (51.61%) and most of them were older than 50 years (43.55%). Around 62.90% of the caregivers experienced mild burden and the rest moderate to severe burden. The mean BAS score was 50.58 ± 18.58. Around 30% of the caregivers experienced depressive disorders. Higher Burden assessment scores were significantly associated with the presence of psychiatric morbidities (p<0.001). In addition, longer duration of caregiving was also significantly associated with the presence of psychiatric morbidities (p<0.01). Duration of caregiving was also found to be significantly associated with caregiver burden (p<0.001).

Conclusion: This study has revealed a significant burden in the caregivers of mood disorder patients and a higher prevalence of psychiatric morbidities among them. This emphasizes the need to strategize interventions and coping strategies for the caregivers.