High Burden among Older Family Caregivers is Associated with High Prevalence of Symptoms: Data from the Swedish Study “Good Aging in Skåne (GÅS)”

Table 2

Prevalence of symptoms n (%) comparing noncaregivers and caregivers, as well as stratified for high-burden caregivers and caregivers reporting low burden.

Symptoms, n (%)	Caregivers 560 (10.3%)	Noncaregivers 4897 (89.7%)		High-burden caregivers 88 (17.6%)	Low-burden caregivers 411 (82.4%)
Depressive symptoms
Feeling exerted	172 (31.3)	912 (19.2)	<0.001	51 (59.3)	106 (26.3)	<0.001
Sleeping problems	228 (41.6)	2060 (43.4)	0.420	52 (59.3)	154 (38.3)	<0.001
General fatigue	366 (66.8)	3142 (66.1)	0.764	68 (79.1)	268 (66.7)	0.024
Depressive mood	200 (36.4)	1615 (34.0)	0.253	49 (57.0)	138 (34.2)	<0.001
Tearfulness	179 (32.6)	1558 (32.8)	0.945	36 (41.9)	127 (31.5)	0.065
Musculoskeletal symptoms
Joint pains	262 (47.7)	2389 (50.3)	0.262	42 (48.8)	193 (47.9)	0.873
Back ache	284 (51.7)	2486 (52.3)	0.799	53 (61.6)	201 (49.9)	0.048
Leg pains	239 (46.1)	2324 (50.2)	0.098	47 (54.7)	180 (45.3)	0.117
Difficulty walking	125 (24.1)	1500 (32.3)	<0.001	34 (39.5)	85 (21.4)	<0.001
Gastrourinary symptoms
Appetite loss	42 (7.7)	512 (10.8)	0.024	12 (14.0)	23 (5.7)	0.007
Nausea	53 (9.7)	479 (10.1)	0.753	13 (15.1)	32 (7.9)	0.037
Diarrhoea	65 (11.8)	550 (11.6)	0.850	13 (15.1)	44 (10.9)	0.271
Constipation	63 (11.5)	756 (15.9)	0.007	19 (22.4)	41 (10.2)	0.002
Abdominal pain	111 (20.3)	994 (20.9)	0.718	24 (27.9)	74 (18.4)	0.046
Difficulty urinate	56 (10.2)	471 (9.9)	0.819	13 (15.1)	40 (10.0)	0.162
Incontinence-urine	97 (18.7)	983 (21.1)	0.202	25 (29.1)	66 (16.6)	0.007
Incontinence-stool	32 (6.2)	267 (5.7)	0.682	13 (15.1)	16 (4.0)	<0.001
Symptoms related to head
Headaches	153 (29.6)	1232 (25.9)	0.132	34 (39.5)	106 (26.8)	0.018
Dizziness	134 (25.9)	1267 (27.3)	0.498	26 (30.2)	97 (24.4)	0.263
Auditory problems	172 (33.2)	1614 (35.1)	0.488	32 (37.2)	128 (32.2)	0.375
Eye problems	155 (30.0)	1560 (33.6)	0.101	32 (37.6)	117 (30.1)	0.139
Cardiopulmonary symptoms
Chest pains	91 (16.6)	742 (15.6)	0.514	20 (23.3)	63 (16.3)	0.089
Breathlessness	157 (30.3)	1528 (32.9)	0.239	32 (37.2)	117 (29.7)	0.159
Cough	153 (27.9)	1330 (28.0)	0.960	30 (34.9)	107 (26.6)	0.118
Symptoms related to tension
Irritability	295 (53.7)	2240 (47.1)	0.003	61 (70.9)	207 (51.4)	0.001
Nervousness	182 (33.2)	1508 (31.7)	0.502	43 (50.0)	124 (30.8)	0.001
Trouble concentrating	205 (37.3)	1775 (37.3)	0.998	50 (58.1)	146 (36.2)	<0.001
Difficulty relaxing	236 (43.0)	1904 (40.1)	0.190	60 (69.8)	155 (38.5)	<0.001
Restlessness	180 (32.8)	1502 (31.6)	0.578	44 (51.2)	115 (28.5)	<0.001
Metabolic symptoms
Weight loss	30 (5.5)	339 (7.1)	0.145	9 (10.5)	17 (4.2)	0.019
Overweight	247 (45.0)	1904 (40.0)	0.025	45 (52.3)	182 (45.2)	0.227
Feeling frozen	117 (22.6)	1234 (26.5)	0.054	30 (34.9)	80 (20.2)	0.003
Sweats	148 (28.6)	1249 (26.2)	0.409	26 (30.2)	110 (27.7)	0.637
No. of symptoms md (q1, q3)	9.0 (4.0–14.0)	9.0 (5.0–14.0)	0.806	13.0 (9.0–17.2)	8.0 (4.0–13.0)	<0.001