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Impact of caregiving on mental, self-rated, and physical health: evidence from the China health and retirement longitudinal study.
Su, Qing; Fan, Lijun.
Afiliação
  • Su Q; School of Public Health, Southeast University, No.87 Dingjiaqiao, Nanjing, 210009, China.
  • Fan L; School of Public Health, Southeast University, No.87 Dingjiaqiao, Nanjing, 210009, China. fanlijun@seu.edu.cn.
Qual Life Res ; 33(7): 1-10, 2024 Jul.
Article em En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38644418
ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES:

Given the escalating demand for care services, understanding the impact of informal caregiving, providing unpaid care for family members, on own health is essential. This study longitudinally analyzed the association of caregiving (and different caregiver types) with mental, physical, and self-rated health. Urban-rural, gender, and employment heterogeneity were further investigated.

METHOD:

Based on three-wave data (2011, 2013, and 2018) from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, we used growth curve models to assess the impact of informal caregiving (providing care to family members) and caregiver types (caregivers to grandchildren, parents, spouses, or multiple family members) on three health outcomes (depressive symptoms, self-rated health, and activities of daily living limitations).

RESULTS:

Our study included 13,377 individuals. Results showed a negative correlation of caregiving with mental, physical, and self-rated health. Compared to noncaregivers, spousal caregivers and multiple caregivers were both associated with worsening mental, self-rated, and physical health. In contrast, adult child caregivers were only negatively associated with mental health, and grandparent caregiving did not significantly affect any health outcomes. Further heterogeneity analysis showed that gender did not moderate the relationship between caregiving and health, whereas the negative association between caregiving and health was more pronounced among the rural population and those employed in agriculture.

DISCUSSION:

Findings from the present study suggest that caregiving is detrimental to health, and recommend considering caregiver type when examining caregiving and health. These findings have vital implications for policymakers in addressing the challenges of structuring and implementing a sustainable informal care system.
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Texto completo: 1 Coleções: 01-internacional Base de dados: MEDLINE Assunto principal: Nível de Saúde / Saúde Mental / Cuidadores Limite: Aged / Female / Humans / Male / Middle aged País/Região como assunto: Asia Idioma: En Revista: Qual Life Res Assunto da revista: REABILITACAO / TERAPEUTICA Ano de publicação: 2024 Tipo de documento: Article País de afiliação: China País de publicação: Holanda

Texto completo: 1 Coleções: 01-internacional Base de dados: MEDLINE Assunto principal: Nível de Saúde / Saúde Mental / Cuidadores Limite: Aged / Female / Humans / Male / Middle aged País/Região como assunto: Asia Idioma: En Revista: Qual Life Res Assunto da revista: REABILITACAO / TERAPEUTICA Ano de publicação: 2024 Tipo de documento: Article País de afiliação: China País de publicação: Holanda