Caregiving as a risk factor for mortality - The caregiver health effects study

Context There is strong consensus that caring for an elderly individual wit h disability is burdensome and stressful to many family members and contrib utes to psychiatric morbidity. Researchers have also suggested that the com bination of loss, prolonged distress, the physical demands of caregiving, a nd biological vulnerabilities of older caregivers may compromise their phys iological functioning and increase their risk for physical health problems, leading to increased mortality. Objective To examine the relationship between caregiving demands among olde r spousal caregivers and 4-year all-cause mortality, controlling for sociod emographic factors, prevalent clinical disease, and subclinical disease at baseline. Design Prospective population-based cohort study, from 1993 through 1998 wi th an average of 4.5 years of follow-up. Setting Four US communities. Parti cipants A total of 392 caregivers and 427 noncaregivers aged 66 to 96 years who were living with their spouses. Main Outcome Measure Four-year mortality, based on level of caregiving: (1) spouse not disabled; (2) spouse disabled and not helping; (3) spouse disab led and helping with no strain reported; or(4) spouse disabled and helping with mental or emotional strain reported. Results After 4 years of follow-up, 103 participants (12.6%) died. After ad justing for sociodemographic factors, prevalent disease, and subclinical ca rdiovascular disease, participants who were providing care and experiencing caregiver strain had mortality risks that were 63% higher than noncaregivi ng controls (relative risk [RR], 1.63; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.00-2 .65). Participants who were providing care but not experiencing strain (RR, 1.08; 95% CI, 0.61-1.90) and those with a disabled spouse who were not pro viding care (RR, 1.37; 95% CI, 0.73-2.58) did not have elevated adjusted mo rtality rates relative to the noncaregiving controls. Conclusions Our study suggests that being a caregiver who is experiencing m ental or emotional strain is an independent risk factor for mortality among elderly spousal caregivers. Caregivers who report strain associated with c aregiving are more likely to die than noncaregiving controls.