SynthesisPloS one2019
The association between subjective caregiver burden and depressive symptoms in carers of older relatives: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 110 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
110 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 218 citations in OpenAlex.
- Factors linked to informal caregiver burden in dementia across Latin America and the Caribbean: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026Pooled it
- Burden of care among caregivers of people with mental illness in Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC psychiatry · 2024Pooled it
- Unpaid caregiving and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic-A systematic review of the quantitative literature.PloS one · 2024Pooled it
- Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Prevalence of Depression Among Caregivers of Cancer Patients.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2022Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Subjective caregiver burden and anxiety in informal caregivers: A systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2021Pooled it
- Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial of the Feasibility of a Mobile App-Delivered Mindfulness-Based Intervention for Caregiver Stress.The Gerontologist · 2025Trial
- Health-state utility values and their time to deterioration in informal caregivers of older patients with chronic diseases.Frontiers in public health · 2025Trial
- Improving depression management with support from close others: A thematic analysis of individuals with depression and their partners in care.Chronic illness · 2024Trial
- Quality of Life and Needs in Caregivers: Results From the Prospective Multicentric Open-Label Randomized Study of Informal Caregivers of Elderly Patients.International journal of public health · 2023Trial
- An Ecological and Processual Understanding of Family Resilience in Dementia: A Qualitative Meta-Synthesis.Journal of advanced nursing · 2026Review
- Development of and satisfaction with a short-term outpatient preventive medical service for working informal caregivers: a study protocol of a non-randomized prospective pilot study.Pilot and feasibility studies · 2026Article
- Factors Associated with the Need for Support Among Informal Caregivers During Prolonged Hospitalization.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Parental illness intrusiveness in parents of children with neuromuscular disorders.Journal of neuromuscular diseases · 2026Article
- The intensity of informal caregiving and its implications for older caregivers: a national survey in Sweden.Scandinavian journal of public health · 2026Article
- Mental health effects of caregiving for older parents in the United Kingdom: the roles of social support, neighborhood cohesion, and neighborhood deprivation.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2026Article
- Spiritual Care Needs and Challenges Among Caregivers and Families of People with Neurodegenerative Diseases in Palliative and End-of-Life Care: A Scoping Review.Brain sciences · 2026Review
- Correlations of caregiver burden and musculoskeletal disorders with physical and psychosocial outcomes in palliative caregivers.Irish journal of medical science · 2026Article
- Caregiver Burden, Social Support, and Depressive Symptoms Among Caregivers of Patients With Heart Failure.The journal of nursing research : JNR · 2026Article
- "Don't tell me I'm going to feel joy": The emotional burden of informal caregivers of patients with a fragility fracture discharged from a rehabilitation hospital.Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA · 2026Article
50 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundFamily carers are an important source of care for older people. Although several studies have reported that subjective caregiver burden is related to depressive symptoms there are no systematic reviews quantifying this association.
objectiveTo establish the extent to which subjective caregiver burden is associated with depressive symptoms and whether this association would vary by study or care characteristics.
methodsWe searched major databases such as PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Scopus and ISI Proceedings up to March 2018, and conducted a meta-analysis of included studies. Summary estimates of the association were obtained using a random-effects model to improve generalisation of findings.
resultsAfter screening of 4,688 articles, 55 studies were included providing a total of 56 independent comparisons with a total of 9,847 carers from data across 20 countries. There was a large, positive association between subjective caregiver burden and depressive symptoms ([Formula: see text] = 0.514; 95% CI = 0.486, 0.541), with very low heterogeneity amongst individual studies (I2 = 8.6%). Sensitivity analyses showed no differences between cross-sectional or repeated measures ([Formula: see text] = 0.521; 95% CI = 0.491, 0.550; 51 samples) and longitudinal studies ([Formula: see text] = 0.454; 95% CI = 0.398, 0.508; 6 samples). We found a higher effect size for those caring for people living with dementia compared to those caring for frail older people, and stroke survivors. Carer sex, age and kinship did not change the estimate of the effect.
conclusionsSubjective caregiver burden is a significant risk factor for depressive symptoms in carers of older people and may precipitate clinical depression. Those caring for people with dementia experience greater burden. There is a need for longitudinal evaluations examining the effects of potential mediators of the association of subjective burden and depressive symptoms. Future interventions should test whether minimizing subjective burden may modify the risk of developing depression in carers of older relatives.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.