Research Article
High Burden among Older Family Caregivers is Associated with High Prevalence of Symptoms: Data from the Swedish Study “Good Aging in Skåne (GÅS)”
Table 3
Prevalence of symptoms n (%) comparing male and female caregivers.
| Symptoms, n (%) | Male caregivers 285 (50.9%) | Female caregivers 275 (49.1%) | |
| Depressive symptoms | | | | Feeling exerted | 74 (26.6) | 98 (36.2) | 0.016 | Sleeping problems | 88 (31.8) | 140 (51.7) | <0.001 | General fatigue | 180 (64.7) | 186 (68.9) | 0.304 | Depressive mood | 87 (31.3) | 113 (41.7) | 0.011 | Tearfulness | 57 (20.5) | 122 (45.0) | <0.001 |
| Musculoskeletal symptoms | | | | Joint pains | 129 (46.4) | 133 (49.1) | 0.530 | Back ache | 138 (49.6) | 146 (53.9) | 0.321 | Leg pains | 115 (43.2) | 124 (49.2) | 0.173 | Difficulty walking | 66 (24.8) | 59 (23.4) | 0.710 |
| Gastrourinary symptoms | | | | Appetite loss | 13 (4.7) | 29 (10.7) | 0.008 | Nausea | 22 (7.9) | 31 (11.4) | 0.162 | Diarrhoea | 36 (12.9) | 29 (10.7) | 0.415 | Constipation | 25 (9.0) | 38 (14.1) | 0.062 | Abdominal pain | 51 (18.3) | 60 (22.2) | 0.259 | Difficulty urinate | 48 (17.3) | 8 (3.0) | <0.001 | Incontinence-urine | 40 (15.0) | 57 (22.6) | 0.027 | Incontinence-stool | 16 (6.0) | 16 (6.4) | 0.865 |
| Symptoms related to head | | | | Headaches | 55 (20.8) | 98 (38.9) | <0.001 | Dizziness | 59 (22.2) | 75 (29.8) | 0.049 | Auditory problems | 97 (36.5) | 75 (29.8) | 0.105 | Eye problems | 79 (29.8) | 76 (30.2) | 0.931 |
| Cardiopulmonary symptoms | | | | Chest pains | 50 (18.1) | 41 (15.1) | 0.358 | Breathlessness | 82 (30.8) | 75 (29.8) | 0.792 | Cough | 70 (25.2) | 83 (30.6) | 0.155 |
| Symptoms related to tension | | | | Irritability | 143 (51.4) | 152 (56.1) | 0.275 | Nervousness | 76 (27.3) | 106 (39.1) | 0.003 | Trouble concentrating | 96 (34.5) | 109 (40.2) | 0.168 | Difficulty relaxing | 99 (35.6) | 137 (50.6) | <0.001 | Restlessness | 90 (34.2) | 90 (33.2) | 0.835 |
| Metabolic symptoms | | | | Weight loss | 15 (5.4) | 15 (5.5) | 0.943 | Overweight | 54 (20.4) | 63 (25.0) | 0.016 | Feeling frozen | 117 (22.6) | 1234 (26.5) | 0.209 | Sweats | 54 (20.3) | 94 (37.3) | <0.001 |
| No. of symptoms md (q1, q3) | 8.0 (4.0–13.0) | 10.0 (6.0–15.0) | <0001 |
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