Depression,anxiety and quality of life in caregiver spouses of veterans with chronic spinal cord injury

Objective: we were curious about the degree of anxiety and depression and their effect on the quality of life of the caregivers of veterans with spinal cord injury (sci). methods: a convenience sample of 72 out of 120 caregiver spouses of veterans with spinal cord injury participated in our study. the hospital anxiety and depression scale (hads) were considered as a measure of depression and anxiety. the world health organization quality of life bref questionnaire (whoqol-bref) was considered to evaluate the quality of life. to compare the caregivers,we enrolled 74 matched caregiver spouses of patients without spinal cord injury. results: the average age of the spouses was 44.7±6.5. the average time elapsed from the injury was 26.4±3.1 years. there was a significant difference in all domains of quality of life and depression between the caregivers and the control group,but there was not a significant difference in terms of anxiety. there was a negative correlation between depression and age,level of education and quality of life. conclusion: mental care support should be implemented for veterans and their spouses in addition to the provided facilities.