Caregiver Depression and Burden are Associated with Poor Functional Outcomes in Elderly Patients Following Major Abdominal Surgery

Aim: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between caregiver burden and depression in caregivers of elderly patients undergoing major abdominal surgery and to evaluate its association with the patient's postoperative functional status. Methods: In this cross-sectional study conducted at a single center, we enrolled 65 patient-caregiver dyads. Patient functional status was assessed using the Katz Index and the Lawton-Brody Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale (IADL). Caregiver burden was measured with the Zarit Caregiver Burden Scale, and depression was assessed using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Data on event impact (IES-R) and quality of life (SF-36) were also collected. Correlations between variables were evaluated using Spearman's rank correlation coefficient. Results: The study included caregivers with a mean age of 58.9 ± 13.8 years and patients with a mean age of 70.4 ± 5.8 years. More than half of the caregivers (50.8%) exhibited severe depression according to the BDI. A strong positive correlation was found between caregiving burden and depression (r = 0.53, p < 0.001). Patients with moderately or severely depressed caregivers had significantly lower functional status scores (Katz Index, p < 0.001) compared to patients with non-depressed or mildly depressed caregivers. Conclusions: Our findings reveal a significant positive relationship between caregiver burden and depression, which in turn is associated with poorer patient functional outcomes. These results underscore the critical need for implementing comprehensive psychological support systems for this vulnerable caregiver population to improve both caregiver and patient outcomes.