Caregiver burden and related factors on caregivers of the elderly with chronic diseases

Characteristics of patients	n	%
Age (mean = 75.18, SD = 8.8, Min = 60, Max = 98)
Gender
Male	156	58.6
Female	110	41.4
Type of chronic diseases
Hypertension	58	21.8
Chronic coronary artery disease	43	16.2
Diabetes	40	15.0
COPD	34	12.8
Heart failure	33	12.4
Chronic kidney failure	32	12.0
Asthma	21	7.9
Others*	05	1.9
Number of comorbidities
None	14	5.3
1	57	21.4
2	62	23.3
>3	133	50.0

1* Note: There were other chronic diseases such as arthritis, stroke, and Alzheimer; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; Min, minimum; Max, maximum; SD, standard deviation.

Table 2.

Demographic characteristic of caregivers (n = 266).

Characteristics of caregivers	n	%
Age (Mean = 46.82, SD = 13.51, Min = 19, Max = 79)
Gender
Male	96	36.1
Female	170	63.9
Educational level
Primary school	25	9.4
Secondary school	50	18.8
High school	76	28.6
Undergraduate	108	40.6
Graduate	07	2.6
Relationship with patients
Spouse	59	22.2
Children	159	59.8
Others*	48	18.0
Marital status
Married	227	85.3
Single	22	12.4
Divorced/widowed	06	2.3
Employment status
Employed	191	71.8
Retired	39	14.7
Unemployed	36	13.5
Duration of caring
<6 months	188	70.7
6–12 months	23	8.6
>12 months	55	20.7

1* Note: The significant persons; SD, standard deviation.

Table 3.

The social support, level of dependence, and caregiver burden (n = 266).

Variables	Mean (SD)	Min-Max	n (%)
MSPSS	37.5 (7.8)	7–48
BI	72.1 (26.4)	5–100
ZBI	22.62 (11.2)	0–58
None or mild	12.9 (5.2)	0–20	119 (44.7)
Moderate	28.2 (5.8)	21–40	128 (48.1)
Severe	45.9 (4.3)	41–58	19 (7.1)

1 Note: BI, Barthel Index; MSPSS, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support; SD, standard deviation; ZBI, Zarit Burden Interview.

Table 4.

Factors related to caregiver burden (n = 266).

Variables	Caregiver burden		P
Variables	χ² (df)	Mean rank	P
Gender of patients			0.85^a
Male		134.2
Female		132.5
Types of chronic diseases	5.2 (7)		0.64^b
Hypertension		135.9
Chronic coronary artery disease		130
Diabetes		111.8
COPD		142.7
Heart failure		138.2
Chronic kidney failure		143.2
Asthma		131.3
Others*		162.5
Number of comorbidities	1.8 (3)		0.62^b
None		111.8
1		139.8
2		128.9
≥3		135.2
Gender of caregiver			0.76^a
Male		131.6
Female		134.6
Educational level	1.9 (4)		0.75^b
Primary school		144.7
Secondary school		142.2
High school		126.9
Undergraduate		131
Graduate		142.6
Relationship with patients	7.0 (2)		0.03^b
Spouse		156.1
Children		129.2
Others		120.2
Marital status	3.4 (2)		0.18^b
Married		133.1
Single		145.3
Divorced/widowed		82.4
Employment status	3.7 (2)		0.16^b
Employed		129.7
Retired		131.1
Unemployed		156.5
Duration of caring	13.1 (2)		0.001^b
<6 months		123
6–12 months		144.7
>12 months		164.8
Age of patients, r_s = −0.05			0.43^c
Age of caregivers, r_s = −0.001			0.99^c
MSPSS, r_s = −0.11			0.08^c
BI, r_s = −0.29			0.00^c

1a Note: Mann-Whitney test;

1b Kruskal–Wallis test;

1c Spearman’s rho test; P < 0.05; BI, Barthel Index; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease;

1* There were other chronic diseases such as arthritis, stroke, and Alzheimer; MSPSS, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/FON-2026-0012 | Journal eISSN: 2544-8994 | Journal ISSN: 2097-5368

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Language: English

Page range: 105 - 113

Submitted on: Mar 21, 2025

Accepted on: Apr 28, 2025

Published on: Mar 24, 2026

Published by: Shanxi Medical Periodical Press

In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services

Keywords:

burden of caregivers,

Related subjects:

Assistive professions, nursing

© 2026 Nguyen Thi Huong Lan, Huynh Thi Ly, Hoang Thi Ngoc Sen, published by Shanxi Medical Periodical Press
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Volume 13 (2026): Issue 1 (March 2026)