| dc.description.abstract | The caregiver who has the responsibility to take care of their elderly family member
can modify their routine, increasing their workload and being susceptible to the
appearance of pain. Chronic pain can interfere with the cognitive process leading to
memory deficits, reduced time response, concentration and attention. Thus, this
study aimed to evaluate the association between chronic pain and cognition in elderly
caregivers. It is a descriptive, exploratory, with a quantitative approach and crosssectional
design research. The study was conducted in Sao Carlos, a town in the
state of Sao Paulo, Brazil, with sixty-year-old people or older who provide care to
another elderly in the house. The final sample included 320 elderly caregivers,
divided into two groups: one group with chronic pain (n = 187) and a group with no
pain (n = 133). The instruments used for data collection were: sociodemographic
characterization, health and care, Multidimensional Scale Evaluation of Pain
(EMADOR), Addenbrooke´s Cognitive Examination - Revised (ACE-R), Inventory for
Evaluation of overload, Perceived Stress Scale and Geriatric Depression Scale. The
median age of the population was 68 years old, with a predominance of females
(76.2%) and family income of three Brazilian median salaries. Regarding education,
17.5% (n = 56) were illiterate, 63.5% (n = 203) had one to four years at school, 9.4%
(n = 30) five to nine years and 9, 6 (n = 31) ten years or more years at school. It was
observed that the group with pain showed better level of education, with lower
literacy rates when compared to the group without pain. In the group with chronic
pain, 36.1% of the participants provide care for over 10 years and 26.9% spends 5-9
hours a day taking care of the elderly. In the group without pain, it was observed a
lower percentage of participants who perform care for over 10 years. Caregivers with
chronic pain had higher scores on overload scales, stress and depressive symptoms,
with significant statistical difference between the groups. Regarding cognitive
assessment, the elderly with chronic pain outperformed the elderly with no pain in all
areas of the instrument ACE-R (Attention and orientation, memory, language, fluency
and visuospatial skills). Regarding pain, 58.4% of seniors reported feeling pain for
more than six months. The parts with the highest prevalence were the lumbar region
(58.8%) and lower limbs (58.8%). There was a prevalence of moderate intensity
(39.0%) and severe pain (38.6%). The descriptors listed by caregivers to represent
pain were uncomfortable (92.5%), painful (87.1%) and sustained (73.7%). This study
helped to identify the sociodemographic profile, health, care and characteristics of
chronic pain of elderly caregivers attended at Public Health Units. It was not
observed the association between chronic pain and worse cognitive performance,
and caregivers with pain had better scores on the ACE-R than elderly people with no
pain, showing a contrary result to the initial hypothesis, recommending the use of
more specific instruments for future studies. | |
