Characteristics of informal caregivers of patients with dementia in Alicante province

Dear Editor:

We have read with great interest “Characteristics of informal caregivers of patients with dementia in Alicante province” by Toribio-Díaz et al.¹ We believe that this study constitutes a relevant contribution to the literature on informal care for dementia patients for 2 main reasons: firstly, it introduces the concept of the ‘absent caregiver’ and develops the concept of ‘supporting caregiver’; and secondly, it analyses the tasks performed by caregivers and addresses the reasons why primary caregivers take responsibility for these care tasks. However, we feel that the authors have not mentioned some of the topics mentioned in other studies conducted by Spanish researchers and published in international journals. Our letter aims to address those omitted topics in order to enrich the discussion of informal care for dementia patients, thereby complementing, if possible, the outstanding article by Toribio-Díaz et al.

Rotation (moving a patient between different relatives’ households) is a care strategy used for many dependent elderly patients, but it is more common in patients with dementia. Very few studies have examined this strategy since it is almost exclusive to Mediterranean countries. While the authors mention this method, they do not provide further details or cite the only article in the literature offering an in-depth analysis of rotation.² We recommend that they read the study indicated above, which includes very useful information on informal care. On the other hand, the authors state that they have found no previous studies on dementia showing that primary caregivers reduce their working hours in order to care for patients. Our research group has published several studies on informal care for dementia patients^2–6 that document this reduction in working hours with quantitative data. We invite Toribio-Díaz et al. to read these articles, and congratulate them on their excellent study. We look forward to meeting these authors at a medical conference to further discuss these topics in person.