Dyadic Comparison of Pain and Stress in Alzheimer's Disease and Caregivers

Abstract

Background: Millions of people live with dementia worldwide, relying heavily on family caregivers. Pain is common in both people living with Alzheimer's disease (PLWAD) and their caregivers, contributing to stress and burden. To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the relationship between pain, stress, hair cortisol, and mental health in PLWAD and their caregivers and how these factors are linked to caregiver burden.

Methods: This exploratory pilot study included five PLWAD-caregiver dyads. Participants completed questionnaires on pain, mental health, and demographics. Hair samples were collected for cortisol analysis. Pearson correlation coefficients (r) were used to assess relationships between various factors of PLWAD and their caregivers.

Results: Contrary to expectations, pain and mental health measures for PLWAD displayed a trend toward negative correlation with their hair cortisol levels. Conversely, caregiver pain and mental health measures had a trend toward positive correlation with their hair cortisol levels. There was also a trend that higher pain in PLWAD was associated with higher caregiver burden.

Conclusion: This exploratory pilot study showed associational trends suggesting a complex relationship between pain, mental health, and stress in PLWAD-caregiver dyads. This preliminary work will inform future studies that can help advance targeted, tailored interventions.

Keywords: Alzheimer disease; Caregiver burden; Pain; Physiological stress; Subjective stress.