Akemi Hirano
Department of Adult Nursing, Shubun University, 6 Nikko-cho, Ichinomiya, Aichi 491-0938, Japan
Yusuke Suzuki
Centre for Community Liaison and Patient Consultations, Nagoya University Hospital, 65 Tsuruma, Showa,
Nagoya, Aichi 466-8550, Japan
Toshio Hayashi
Department of Community and In-Home Nursing, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, School of
Health Sciences, Daiko-Minami, Higashi-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 461-8673, Japan
Koichiro Ina
Department of Internal Medicine, Ina Clinic, 3-111 Hirabari, Tenpaku, Nagoya, Aichi 468-0011, Japan
Joji Onishi
Department of Community Healthcare & Geriatrics, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, 65 Tsuruma,
Showa, Nagoya, Aichi 466-8550, Japan
Background: Caregivers of dementia patients have significantly higher levels of serum IL-6 and CRP compared to non-caregivers, and the accumulation of everyday stressors reportedly promotes the induction of inflammatory markers. However, few studies have identified factors that affect catecholamine levels in caregivers who experience a combination of physical and mental stress from caregiving. Purpose: This study aimed to identify physical factors that impact catecholamine levels in caregivers of dementia patients. Methods: Participants were elderly caregivers living together with elderly Alzheimer’s-type dementia patients. We performed logistic regression analysis, with levels of adrenaline, noradrenaline, and dopamine (indicators of catecholamine) as dependent variables. Results: Caregiver BMI had a significant impact on adrenaline levels (OR: 0.792; 95%CI: 0.654-0.960) and noradrenaline levels (OR: 1.210; 95%CI: 1.009-1.451), whereas age had a significant impact on dopamine levels (OR: 1.162; 95%CI: 1.019- 1.324). Discussion: While caregiver BMI significantly impacted adrenaline and noradrenaline levels, the mechanism underlying these relationships is unclear. One possibility is that obesity (BMI) and a rise in sympathetic nerve activity contributed to hypertension. Our findings suggest that chronic stress in elderly caregivers may potentially impair the dopaminergic activation system in the brain. Conclusion: There is a need to identify factors which increase BMI in caregivers. Future studies aimed at gaining a better understanding of the lifestyle habits of caregivers and intervention studies aimed at reducing their BMI are warranted
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Copyright © 2021 Akemi Hirano, Yusuke Suzuki, Toshio Hayashi, Koichiro Ina, Joji Onishi
This is an open access article under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) License.
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