Screening for Depression, Anxiety and Stress upon Informal Primary Caregivers of Patients Suffering from Common Mental Disorders

WHO defines health as 'a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely an absence of disease or infirmity.'Common mental disorders comprise depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, panic attack and obsessive-compulsive disorders.The study was a hospital-based cross-sectional study.The units of the study were informal primary caregivers coming along with the patients (treatment naïve) for the first time to the psychiatry OPD of Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, New Delhi.Sample size of the study was 226.Those caregivers who were themselves suffering from physical or mental illness and those patients who were suffering from mental retardation, schizophrenia, substance abuse and alcohol dependence were not involved.Study tools used were sociodemographic profile of the patient and caregiver and DASS (depression, anxiety and stress scale).Around 2/3 rd of the caregivers were suffering from some levels of depression, with 1/5 th in extremely severe depression level.2/3 rd of the caregivers were suffering from some levels of anxiety, with 1/3 rd in extremely severe anxiety levels.Less than half of the caregivers were having some levels of stress, with 16% in extremely severe stress levels.