Anales del Congreso ALAP
Anales del X Congreso ALAP

The health of caregivers is a matter of public health concern given their central role in the provision of social care for which the demand is increasing. The impact of caregiving has been extensively studied but results are inconsistent, possibly reflecting a lack of attention to health-related selection into the caregiver role.
The objective of this study is to extend understanding of the impact of caregiving on the mental and physical health of caregivers taking account of initial health status measured using objective data on grip strength and lung function, as well as self-reported indicators. We focus on caregivers of parents or parents-in-law and analyse changes in indicators of health for both caregivers and non-caregivers, among those who have this living relative, distinguishing by amount of care provided. We additionally take account of sociodemographic factors relating to family of origin and current family status which may be associated with both caregiving and health. These included an indicator of whether respondents had lived with both biological parents at age 16, which may be associated with affiliation with biological parents and also with later health; an indicator of whether respondents had siblings, as this may influence selection into caregiving and the extent to which respondents feel constrained to undertake this role; and variables relating to current partnership status and presence in the household of children under 16 which may influence decisions on undertaking caregiving and moderate impacts of caregiving on health. As adult children may be more likely to provide care for a biological parent, and more worried about the health of biological parents especially those living alone, we also included indicators of whether respondents had a biological parent alive and whether they had a biological parent who lived alone.
Methods. We use data from a large nationally representative UK longitudinal study to firstly compare the health status of people aged 40-69 ‘eligible’ to provide parent care (with a living parent/parent-in-law) with those ineligible, and secondly to analyse trajectories of physical and mental health among those providing intensive care (co-resident or 20+ hours per week), other caregivers, and non-caregivers, over a seven-year follow-up. Initial health status was measured using a latent variable derived from three self-reported and two observer-recorded indicators. Outcomes were measured using the SF-12 MCS and PCS indicators of mental and physical health.
Results showed that those eligible to provide parental care were healthier than the ineligible but those assuming intensive caregiver roles had initially poorer health than non-caregivers or those providing less intensive care. Controlling for various socio-demographic confounders, female intensive caregivers showed deterioration in mental health, compared with non-caregivers and providers of less intensive care. However, the physical health of caregivers with low levels of education improved.
Conclusion. Results reaffirm the need for greater supports for those providing substantial amounts of care to older parents, especially female caregivers. Further research is required to investigate potential stress-buffering factors and interventions to ameliorate effects of providing heavy care on the mental health of caregivers.