Factors related to the quality of life in family carers of people with dementia: a meta-analysis

Objectives: This meta-analysis aimed to (1) quantitatively synthesize evidence of factors related to the quality of life (QoL) of family carers of people with dementia and (2) explore moderating factors that may influence the strength of the relationship between such potential predictive factors and carer QoL. 

Methods: Studies that investigated correlations between patient/carer factors and QoL in unpaid family carers of people with dementia and were published in English, Spanish, Portuguese, or Japanese were included. 

Results: Thirty-three studies were identified. The pooled correlations with carer QoL (effect size) were significantly large for depression (−0.58), significantly moderate for subjective burden (−0.47), and significantly small for people with dementia’s neuropsychiatric symptoms (−0.24). These results indicated to be robust in the context of publication bias. The results of subgroup analyses demonstrated the social and economic development status of the country where study participants resided did not moderate these effects. 

Conclusion: Carer depression, subjective burden, and people with dementia’s neuropsychiatric symptoms may play a critical role in maintaining QoL of family carers regardless of the social and economic circumstances.