Use of psychotropic medications by caregivers of elderly patients with dementia: is this a sign of caregiver burden?

• Autor(a) principal: Camargos,Einstein Francisco
• Data de Publicação: 2012
• Outros Autores: Souza,Andrea Brígida, Nascimento,Aline Silva, Morais-e-Silva,Alessandra Cicari, Quintas,Juliana Lima, Louzada,Luciana Lilian, Medeiros-Souza,Patricia
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Arquivos de neuro-psiquiatria (Online)
• Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0004-282X2012000300003
• topic: psychotropic drugs; aged; caregiver; dementia

This study evaluated the consumption of psychotropic medications by caregivers of elderly patients with or without dementia. This was a cross-sectional study conducted at all geriatric units in Brasília, Brazil, during a two-month period. Structured interviews were performed with 311 caregivers of people with or without dementia and they completed questionnaires. Among the caregivers, 196 (63%) were caregivers of patients with dementia and 115 (37%) were caregivers of patients without dementia. Forty-four caregivers (14.1%) were taking psychotropic drugs (benzodiazepines or antidepressants), and this usage was more frequent among caregivers of patients with dementia (p<0.01). Twenty-two caregivers of patients with dementia (11.4%) had used sleeping pills after beginning care, compared with only five (4.3%) caregivers of patients without dementia (p<0.01). In conclusion, this study found that caregivers of patients with dementia took psychotropic drugs (benzodiazepines and antidepressants) more frequently than the ones of patients without dementia.