Associations between pleasant events, activity restriction, stressors, and blood pressure in caregivers of persons with dementia

Abstract

Objectives: Caring for a relative with dementia is associated with adverse consequences for cardiovascular health. Cognitive and behavioral factors, such as high perceived activity restriction and low frequency of pleasant events have been found to be associated with higher levels of blood pressure, but the role these variables play in the stress and coping process remains understudied. The objective of this study is to analyze the associations between behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia, activity restriction, frequency of pleasant events, and mean arterial pressure.
Design: Face-to-face interviews and cross-sectional analyses.
Setting: Social services, healthcare centers, and adult day services of Comunidad de Madrid, Spain.
Participants: One hundred and two family caregivers of a spouse or parent with dementia.
Measurements: Apart from various sociodemographic and health-related variables, behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia, activity restriction, and frequency of leisure activities were assessed. In addition, measurement of blood pressure levels was conducted through an electronic sphygmomanometer.
Results: The obtained model suggests that there is a significant indirect association between behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia and mean arterial pressure through activity restriction and frequency of pleasant events.
Conclusions: The findings of this study provide preliminary support for a potential indirect effect between behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia and blood pressure, through the effects of behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia on the caregivers’ levels of activity restriction and frequency of pleasant activities. Our manuscript provides additional support for the pleasant events and activity restriction model (Mausbach et al., 2011; Chattillion et al., 2013), by highlighting the importance of considering caregiving stressors as a source of caregivers’ activity restriction in the theoretical framework of the model.