Evaluation of depressive symptoms in older caregivers

Background: The number of older caregivers is getting bigger and it is important to know if they experience depressive symptoms because there can be consequences for both caregiver and care recipient. Objective: To analyze the recent publications related to the assessment of depressive symptoms in elderly caregivers. Methods: Lilacs and PubMed databases were reviewed associating the descriptors "caregivers" AND "aged" AND "depression". Inclusion criteria were texts including primary data in Portuguese, Spanish or English, published between 2009-2013, also data which evaluated elderly caregivers (>= 60) and depression or depressive symptoms. There were found n = 1129 texts and after applying the inclusion criteria n = 17 were selected and analyzed. Results: Geriatric Depressive Scale (-30 and -15 items) and Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale were the most used scales to evaluate depressive symptoms in older caregivers. Caregivers were in the most of the cases female and cared for a family member with dementia. The majority of the texts that compared older caregivers to older non-caregivers found that caregivers had more depressive symptoms. Discussion: Early identification of depressive symptoms can help professionals to minimize damage in caregivers and in care recipient and to plan interventions focusing on improving quality of life of this specific caregiver group.