589 - The impact of musculoskeletal disorders on quality of life among caregivers of motor-impaired patients

Objectives: Caregivers appear to be at increased risk of musculoskeletal disorders (MSD), perhaps due to caregiving duties. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of MSD on the quality of life (QOL) among spousal caregivers of motor-impaired patients.

Design: The study involved spousal caregivers with chronic motor disabilities. MSD were evaluated by the standardized Nordic Musculoskeletal (NMQ). Pain was evaluated according to the Visual Analog Scale (VAS). QOL and the level of burden were evaluated according to the Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) and the Zarit scale (ZS); respectively.

Results: A total of 142 wife-caregivers were recruited with a mean age of 53.09 ±11.73. The average age of impaired patients was 58.77± 11.35 years. The average duration of caregiver roles was 5.42±7.56 years and the average weekly time spent on caregiving was 35 hours/week.

In our study, 101 (71,13%) wife-caregivers reported having experienced a MSD. Pain was severe (VAS > 7) in 20% of cases.

The majority of wives (83,3%) had a poor QOL (SF-36< 66,7) with a mean score of 43.88 ±20.8 and 68,3% were classified as “high burden” caregivers (ZS >41).

A significant association was observed between pain and functional status in impaired patients (p< 0,001), number of weekly hours spent in caregiving (p=0,023), caregiving burden (p< 0.001) and poor QOL.

Conclusions: Findings suggest a high prevalence of pain and MSD among caregivers of motor-impaired patients leading to poor QOL.