Does a Family Meetings Intervention Prevent Depression and Anxiety in Family Caregivers of Dementia Patients? A Randomized Trial

Key findings used in wiki

• In the same randomized multicenter trial of 192 primary caregivers of community-dwelling dementia patients (96 intervention, 96 usual care), the family meetings intervention was not superior to usual care in reducing the risk of a new depressive or anxiety disorder within 12 months (adjusted incidence rate ratio 0.98, 95% CI 0.69 to 1.38).
• The intervention did not significantly reduce depressive symptoms (randomization-by-time interaction coefficient -1.40, 95% CI -3.91 to 1.10) or anxiety symptoms (-0.55, 95% CI -1.59 to 0.49) over 12 months.
• The intervention did not reduce caregiver burden or improve caregiver health-related quality of life.
• 72 of 192 caregivers developed a depressive or anxiety disorder within 12 months regardless of study group; the authors concluded the trial did not demonstrate preventive effects of family meetings on caregiver mental health.