TY - JOUR
T1 - Caregiving strain and all-cause mortality
T2 - Evidence from the REGARDS study
AU - Perkins, Martinique
AU - Howard, Virginia J.
AU - Wadley, Virginia G.
AU - Crowe, Michael
AU - Safford, Monika M.
AU - Haley, William E.
AU - Howard, George
AU - Roth, David L.
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding This work was supported by a Ruth Kirschstein NRSA Predoctoral Fellowship to Promote Diversity (1F31AG032215-01A1) from the National institute on Aging; a cooperative agreement (U01 NS041588) from the National institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NiNDS), National institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Service; and an investigator-initiated grant from NiNDS (R01 NS045789).
PY - 2013/7
Y1 - 2013/7
N2 - Objectives. Using a large, national sample, this study examined perceived caregiving strain and other caregiving factors in relation to all-cause mortality. Method. The REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study is a population-based cohort of men and women aged 45 years and older. Approximately 12% (n = 3,710) reported that they were providing ongoing care to a family member with a chronic illness or disability. Proportional hazards models were used for this subsample to examine the effects of caregiving status measures on all-cause mortality over the subsequent 5-year period, both before and after covariate adjustment. Results. Caregivers who reported high caregiving strain had significantly higher adjusted mortality rates than both no strain (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.55, p = .02) and some strain (HR = 1.83, p = .001) caregivers. The mortality effects of caregiving strain were not found to differ by race, sex, or the type of caregiving relationship (i.e., spouse, parent, child, sibling, and other). Discussion. High perceived caregiving strain is associated with increased all-cause mortality after controlling for appropriate covariates. High caregiving strain constitutes a significant health concern and these caregivers should be targeted for appropriate interventions.
AB - Objectives. Using a large, national sample, this study examined perceived caregiving strain and other caregiving factors in relation to all-cause mortality. Method. The REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study is a population-based cohort of men and women aged 45 years and older. Approximately 12% (n = 3,710) reported that they were providing ongoing care to a family member with a chronic illness or disability. Proportional hazards models were used for this subsample to examine the effects of caregiving status measures on all-cause mortality over the subsequent 5-year period, both before and after covariate adjustment. Results. Caregivers who reported high caregiving strain had significantly higher adjusted mortality rates than both no strain (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.55, p = .02) and some strain (HR = 1.83, p = .001) caregivers. The mortality effects of caregiving strain were not found to differ by race, sex, or the type of caregiving relationship (i.e., spouse, parent, child, sibling, and other). Discussion. High perceived caregiving strain is associated with increased all-cause mortality after controlling for appropriate covariates. High caregiving strain constitutes a significant health concern and these caregivers should be targeted for appropriate interventions.
KW - Caregiving
KW - Mortality
KW - Strain
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U2 - 10.1093/geronb/gbs084
DO - 10.1093/geronb/gbs084
M3 - Article
C2 - 23033358
AN - SCOPUS:84878830936
SN - 1079-5014
VL - 68
SP - 504
EP - 512
JO - Journals of Gerontology - Series B Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences
JF - Journals of Gerontology - Series B Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences
IS - 4
ER -