Hongli Liu,1,2,* Tengfei Niu,3,* Jiajia Chen,2,4 Zhenyu Wu,5 Taowu Gong,5 Pengcheng Zhao,5 Yuhang Zhu,6 Li Zhang2,7 

1Department of Intensive Care Unit, Chongqing General Hospital, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 401147, People’s Republic of China; 2Nursing School of Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, Guizhou, 563000, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Basic Courses, Chongqing Medical and Pharmaceutical College, Chongqing, 401331, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Neurology, Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, Guizhou, 563000, People’s Republic of China; 5Department of Anesthesiology, Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, Guizhou, 563000, People’s Republic of China; 6Early Clinical Research Ward, Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, Guizhou, 563000, People’s Republic of China; 7Discipline Inspection and Supervision Office of Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, Guizhou, 563000, People’s Republic of China

*These authors contributed equally to this work

Correspondence: Yuhang Zhu; Li Zhang, Email zhuyuhang_zmc@sina.com; zhli8523@163.com

Background: This study examined the current state of health-related quality of life among family caregivers of elderly individuals with dementia, analyzing associated influencing factors to provide a foundation for enhancing their health-related quality of life and developing pertinent intervention strategies and measures.
Methods: From September 2023 to February 2024, a convenient sampling method was used to investigate the status quo of Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) among family caregivers for dementia patients, family caregivers for non-dementia patients, and people with no caregiving burdens in Sichuan, Chongqing and Guizhou in southwest China. The risk factors were analyzed by multiple regression.
Results: A total of 678 questionnaires were distributed, and 630 valid questionnaires were obtained, resulting in a response rate of 92.92%. The study found that family caregivers for elderly individuals with dementia exhibited the lowest scores in both physical and mental health, followed by family caregivers for elderly individuals without dementia, while people with no caregiving burdens scored the highest. The multiple linear regression analysis demonstrated that age, chronic disease, the relationship between the family caregiver and the person being cared for were dependent of physiological health scores. While females, caregivers with secondary-education, and caregivers with a chronic disease showed poorer mental health scores.
Conclusion: We need to focus on the role that family caregivers for dementia patients play in the health and quality of life of older people with dementia. Therefore, we should pay more attention to the physical and mental health of family caregivers for dementia patients and ensure that this should be taken into consideration in policy-making, which will contribute to a better quality of life for theses caregivers.

Keywords: dementia, family caregivers, general health, SF-36, health survey, associated factors