Oxidative stress among informal caregivers

Abstract Objective: to evaluate oxidative stress and non-enzymatic antioxidant defenses in informal caregivers, and correlations with anxiety, health satisfaction and quality of life. Method: a case-control analytical study was performed, where the case was represented by the main informal caregiver and the control was paired with individuals with identical characteristics to the case, but who were not informal caregivers. The following instruments were used: a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Beck anxiety scale and the WHOQoL-Bref. Oxidative stress was measured through blood by analysis of the Ferric Reducing Ability of Plasma (FRAP) and Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances (TBARS) markets. Results: most informal caregivers were females. There was no difference in the degree of anxiety between the Case and Control groups. Among informal caregivers, 9.4% said they were very dissatisfied and 53.1% dissatisfied with their health. Most caregivers (43.8%) rated their quality of life as poor and 12.5% as very poor, while most controls rated it as good (68.8%). The TBARS and FRAP values were lower in the Case group than in the Control group. Conclusion: The informal caregivers, who were mostly women, defined themselves as dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with their health. Nevertheless, they did not manifest a higher degree of anxiety in comparison with the control population. In addition, they presented a lower degree of oxidative stress than the non-caregiving participants, perhaps due to a greater mobilization of the non-enzymatic antioxidant defenses present in the body.

摘要：研究目的 评估非正式照护者（informal caregivers）的氧化应激（oxidative stress）与非酶抗氧化防御系统（non-enzymatic antioxidant defenses）水平，及其与焦虑（anxiety）、健康满意度（health satisfaction）和生活质量（quality of life）的相关性。研究方法 本研究采用病例对照分析设计，以主要非正式照护者作为病例组，选取与病例组特征匹配且未担任非正式照护者的个体作为对照组。本研究使用以下工具：社会人口学问卷（sociodemographic questionnaire）、贝克焦虑量表（Beck Anxiety Scale）以及WHOQoL-Bref。通过血液样本检测血浆铁还原能力（Ferric Reducing Ability of Plasma, FRAP）与硫代巴比妥酸反应物质（Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances, TBARS）指标，以评估氧化应激水平。研究结果 受试非正式照护者以女性为主。病例组与对照组的焦虑程度无统计学差异。在非正式照护者中，9.4%的受访者表示对自身健康非常不满意，53.1%表示不满意。多数非正式照护者（43.8%）将自身生活质量评为较差，12.5%评为极差；而对照组多数（68.8%）将生活质量评为良好。病例组的TBARS与FRAP检测值均低于对照组。研究结论 受试的非正式照护者以女性为主，自述对自身健康不满意或非常不满意。尽管如此，与对照人群相比，他们并未表现出更高的焦虑水平。此外，与非照护者参与者相比，非正式照护者的氧化应激水平更低，这可能源于机体内非酶抗氧化防御系统的更强动员。