Quality of Life and the Factors Related to Family Caregivers Caring for Those with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

근위축성측삭경화증 환자를 돌보는 가족간호자의 삶의 질과 영향 요인

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate QOL and the factors related to family caregivers who care for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) patients. Methods: The subjects were 83 family caregivers caring for ALS patients who visited the neurology outpatient section of a tertiary hospital located in Seoul between January and July of 2008. Their demographic characteristics were assessed and data were collected using the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis functional rating scale (ALSFRS), the caregiver burden inventory (CBI), HADS, and SF-36. Results: The mean score of the physical health component (PHC) of the family caregiver's QOL was $62.6{\pm}24.4$, and the mean score of the mental health component (MHC) of their QOL was $57.7{\pm}22.4$. The mean score of caregiver burden was $76.5{\pm}30.7$. Anxious family caregivers amounted to 55.4% and depressed family caregivers accounted for 63.9% overall. In a multivariate analysis, the PHC of QOL was explained by caregiver burden (41.1%), depression (9.4%), caregiver gender (3.8%), and caregiver age (3.1%). Anxiety (39.8%), caregiver burden (10.9%), patient gender (5.4%) and depression (1.7%) were predictive factors of the MHC of QOL. Conclusion: Caregiver burden and depression affected both the PHC and the MHC. Caregiver burden affected the PHC more than it did the MHC of QOL, but anxiety affected the MHC more than it did the PHC of QOL.