Caregivers of PD patients consistently need to meet a variety of roles for their patients to help them navigate their daily lives. The management and care of these patients creates a physical, mental, time, and financial impact on caregivers and becomes increasingly more time consuming as the disease progresses. PD is a progressive disease, meaning the longer an individual has had the disorder, a greater impact the disorder takes on the body.
Research shows that there is a strong correlation between higher levels of burnout in caregivers and caring for a PD patient that is at a later stage of the disease (Inaltekin & Kocaturk, 2024). Caregivers of PD patients were shown to have high levels of anxiety and depression, which in turn increases the overall perceived burden felt by the caregiver (Inaltekin & Kocaturk, 2024). The combined mental and physical drain of being a caregiver leads to increased struggles with mental illness, which in turn makes the caregiver feel even more fatigued.