Study Articles
The Importance of Home Blood Pressures in Family Caregivers of Dementia Patients Who Can Walk
2013 Volume 16 Issue 2 Pages 37-44
Details
2013 Volume 16 Issue 2 Pages 37-44
Objective: This study aimed at accurately estimating the home blood pressures (BP) in caregivers of dementia -patients who can walk by themselves.
Methods and Results: We administered self-report questionnaires and assessed home BP. We examined 21 family caregivers (caregivers) (median age, 62.0 years) of dementia patients and 21 non-caregivers as controls (median age, 64.0 years). Stress scores of caregivers were significantly higher than those of noncaregivers (p ＜0.001). With respect to the BP measured before bedtime and after awakening in subjects without anamnesis of hypertension, the percentage of caregivers with BP greater than the criteria from the Japanese Society of Hypertension was significantly higher than that of the non-caregivers (p = 0.035, p = 0.035).
Conclusion: In subjects without anamnesis of hypertension, the percentage of caregivers with suspected sustained or masked hypertension was higher than that of the non-caregivers. We suggest that accurate assessment and control of home BP are important for caregivers of dementia -patients who can walk by themselves.
