Risk Factors of Caregiver Burden in Patients With Cognitive Dysfunction: A Scoping Review

TL;DR

This review identifies key risk factors for caregiver burden in people caring for those with cognitive dysfunction, highlighting the need for better support strategies.

Contribution

The study systematically identifies and categorizes risk factors for caregiver burden in cognitive dysfunction through a scoping review.

Findings

Neuropsychiatric symptoms and patient behaviors are core risk factors for caregiver burden.

Functional dependence and female caregiver gender are key drivers increasing care intensity and psychological pressure.

Environmental-social factors also contribute to caregiver burden through reduced coping resources.

Abstract

To synthesize the risk factors of caregiver burden in patients with cognitive dysfunction and provide insights for clinical nursing practice and research.

A scoping review was conducted following the five‐stage methodological framework proposed by Arksey and O'Malley. A systematic search was performed using a combination of subject terms and free terms across six databases: China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Database, PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science Core Collection. The search period covered from the establishment of each database to July 22, 2025, with grey literature excluded. Two authors independently screened the literature based on predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria, and discrepancies were resolved by team consensus. Data from included studies were extracted into tables, and results were collated through descriptive overview and thematic synthesis.

A total of 3313 records were retrieved, and 19 studies were finally included. Included studies covered regions such as China, the United States, Japan, Australia, and several European countries and involved 5233 patients with cognitive dysfunction and 5586 caregivers. Caregiver burden was influenced by three categories of risk factors: patient factors, caregiver factors, and environmental‐social factors. The most commonly used tools to measure caregiver burden were the Zarit Burden Interview and Caregiver Burden Inventory.

Caregiver burden in patients with cognitive dysfunction is the result of multifactorial interactions, with neuropsychiatric symptoms and behaviors of patients as core risk factors and patient functional dependence and caregiver female gender as driving risk factors. These factors increase caregiver burden by enhancing care intensity, amplifying psychological pressure, and reducing coping resources. Future research should develop comprehensive intervention models based on cross‐cultural comparisons and longitudinal designs to reduce caregiver burden.

This scoping review identifies neuropsychiatric symptoms and behaviors as the core risk factor for caregiver burden in cognitive dysfunction, with functional dependence and female caregivers as key drivers. Findings underscore the need for targeted, multi‐domain interventions to alleviate burden across diverse caregiving contexts.

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