Differential Changes in Health Measures by Caregiving Status

Hierarchical Models

Bibliographic Data

ID13018214
AuthorsAig Unuigbe (0000-0001-5715-6725, The Graduate Center, CUNY, corresponding author), Yeonjung Lee (0000-0001-9894-3610, University of Calgary), Wendy Vaughon (0000-0003-1142-5090, City University of New York), Jane E Kaufman (0000-0003-3582-6630, City University of New York), Jennifer Kaufman, William T Gallo (City University of New York)
Year2017
Volume3
Issue4
Pages393-402
Publication date2017-02-22
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueWork Aging and Retirement (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2054-4650 • E-ISSN: 2054-4650
PublisherOxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1093/workar/wax005
OpenAlexW2604256950
LanguageEN
References cited16

The purpose of this study is to compare the health trajectories/trends of caregivers and non-caregivers before and after the caregivers begin to provide informal services. In this case we focus on caregiving services provided to parents/parents-in-law. The study uses a sample of N = 19,943 observations (drawn from 1,813 unique individuals) observed over 11 waves of the Health and Retirement Study. Using Hierarchical Linear Model (HLM) Methods, the trajectories of health outcomes for caregivers are compared to those of non-caregivers. We examined trajectories related to general health, measures of mobility, motor skills, cognition and measures of depression. We control for education, wealth, occupation, gender, marital status, and race. For caregivers, there is a 0.027 (0.014 per year) increase in the mobility difficulty index and a 0.020 (0.010 per year) increase in large muscle movement difficulty index for every year after the commencement of caregiving, compared to non-caregivers. There is also a significant 0.7 percentage point increase in the probability of reporting a stroke and a 0.118 (0.059 per year) drop in the cognition summary score for each additional year after the start of caregiving. These findings provide evidence of the adverse health effects of caregiving on its providers, particularly with regard to the physical and mental well-being of caregivers

Cognition · Depression (economics · Health and Retirement Study · Marital status · Mental health · Multilevel model · Population · Psychiatry · Health disparities and outcomes · Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving · Medicine · Migration, Aging, and Tourism Studies · Psychology · Gerontology

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