ObjectivesThis study aimed to examine the association between social capital and depressive symptoms among caregivers of people with dementia. MethodsParticipant recruitment was conducted by sending information about the present study by mail to 470 comprehensive community support centers, 470 home-visit nurse stations that allowed the provision of visiting nursing services, and 470 social welfare councils randomly selected from throughout Japan from April 2022 to March 2023.Consent letters to participate in this study were subsequently received from 43 facilities, to which 364 questionnaires were sent by mail.Demographic data were obtained using a questionnaire survey that included a social capital scale for people with dementia and the Japanese version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D).Logistic regression analysis was used to assess the association between social capital and depressive symptoms. ResultsIn total, 96 responses (74.0%female; mean age ± standard deviation SD, 66.2 ± 11.5 years) were analyzed.The mean ± SD CES-D score was 17.1 ± 10.9, with 43 caregivers (44.8%) scoring 16 points or higher.The results of the logistic regression analysis indicated that social capital was independently associated with depressive symptoms (odds ratio: .88,p < .001)after adjusting for caregiver and care recipient variables. ConclusionsThese findings suggest that fostering a community with rich social capital is important for promoting good mental health among caregivers of people with dementia.
秀敏 古川 (Fri,) studied this question.