Exploring Caregiver Burden in Hemodialysis Patients in Pakistan: Variations Across Different Age Groups

Background Caregiver burden among hemodialysis patients has been widely examined; however, limited attention has been given to variations in caregiver burden across different patient age groups. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the burden and depressive symptoms among caregivers, providing care to hemodialysis patients of various age groups. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted between a period from 01 September 2025 to 10th January 2026 involving those caregivers aged 18 years or above, providing care to hemodialysis patient in three tertiary care hospitals i.e., Lady ready Hospital (LRH), Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH) and Institute of Kidney Diseases (IKD), Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Results The findings revealed that 35.7% of caregivers reported moderate to severe burden while providing care to hemodialysis patients; whereas, 11% reported moderate to severe depressive symptoms. The overall burden (p = 0.042) and depressive score (p = 0.007) were significantly higher among those caregivers who were providing care to patients aged ≤ 25 years vs other age groups (26–50 years and > 50 years). Similarly, the findings further revealed that younger age patients (≤ 25 years) were significantly associated with higher burden and depressive symptoms among caregivers (p = 0.016). Conclusion The study reported that caregivers of younger patients experienced significantly higher levels of depression and burden compared with those caring for older patients, suggesting that caring for younger patients may place a greater emotional strain on caregivers, possibly due to concerns about long-term dependency, disrupted life expectations, and uncertainty about the patient’s future.