Abstract / Summary
Introduction: Caregivers of patients on maintenance hemodialysis experience significant physical, emotional, and financial challenges that can profoundly affect their personal lives.This study aimed to assess caregiver burden and its associated factors among the caregivers of hemodialysis patients.Methods: This analytical cross-sectional study was conducted at a tertiary care teaching hospital in northern India over a three-month period in 2026.Caregiver burden was assessed using the validated 12-item Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI-12), and logistic regression was used to evaluate its association with sociodemographic and clinical factors.Results: A total of 130 caregivers were enrolled in the study.The mean age was 36.85 ± 12.98 years, and most were males (n=90, 69.2%).The majority of caregivers were spouses (n=42; 32.3%).Among them, 45.4% (n=59) were graduates or had higher education, and 52.3% (n=68) were employed.The median dialysis vintage was 10 months (IQR,(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20).The mean caregiving duration was 5.46 ± 1.52 hours per day.The mean ZBI-12 score was 22.32 ± 7.21, and 77 caregivers (59.2%) reported a high caregiver burden (ZBI-12 score >20).Lower socioeconomic status, defined as the combined lower and upper-lower classes of the modified Kuppuswamy scale (2025), was independently associated with high caregiver burden in multivariable analysis (adjusted OR 2.90, 95% CI 1.29-6.52;p=0.010).Conclusion: Caregiver burden is highly prevalent among informal caregivers of hemodialysis patients, with a higher burden observed among those from lower socioeconomic groups.Routine screening for caregiver burden and targeted caregiver education, particularly for resource-constrained households, may help to reduce caregiver strain.