Trivedi Ranak, Beaver Kristine, Bouldin Erin D, Eugenio Evercita, Zeliadt Steven B, Nelson Karin, Rosland Ann-Marie, Szarka Jackie G, Piette John D
Ci2i, VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Menlo Park, CA, USA
Northwest HSR&D Center of Excellence, VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, WA, USA.
Chronic Illn. 2014 Sep;10(3):167-79. doi: 10.1177/1742395313506947. Epub 2013 Oct 23.
Given ongoing concerns about high levels of burden reported among some informal caregivers, the goal of this study was to characterize their sociodemographics, health, and well-being.
Using cross-sectional data from a large nationally representative survey in the United States (N = 438,712) we identified adults who provided informal care to friends or family members with a health problem, long-term illness, or disability. Descriptive statistics and propensity matching were used to characterize caregivers and compare their health and social support to sociodemographically-similar adults who were not caregivers. Logistic regression models examined associations between caregiving and respondents' mental health, general health, perceived social support, and sleep problems.
A total of 111,156 (25.3%) participants reported being caregivers, most of whom reported good mental health (90%) good general health (83%), and adequate social support (77%). After adjusting for respondents' gender, caregivers reported worse mental health than non-caregivers (odds ratio (OR) = 1.35, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.31-1.39 for >15 days poor mental health in the past month) but better general health (OR = 0.96, 95%CI = 0.94-0.98 for fair or poor health). Men caregivers reported somewhat worse overall health than non-caregivers (OR = 1.09, 95%CI = 1.05-1.13) whereas women reported better overall health.
Although reporting good overall well-being, caregivers remain vulnerable for worse outcomes than non-caregivers. Caregiving is associated with poor mental health, and may have additional impacts on the physical health of caregiving men.
鉴于人们持续关注一些非正式照料者所报告的高负担水平，本研究的目的是描述他们的社会人口统计学特征、健康状况和幸福感。
利用来自美国一项具有全国代表性的大型调查的横断面数据（N = 438,712），我们确定了那些为有健康问题、长期疾病或残疾的朋友或家庭成员提供非正式照料的成年人。描述性统计和倾向匹配用于描述照料者特征，并将他们的健康状况和社会支持与社会人口统计学特征相似的非照料成年人进行比较。逻辑回归模型检验了照料与受访者心理健康、总体健康、感知社会支持和睡眠问题之间的关联。
共有111,156名（25.3%）参与者报告自己是照料者，其中大多数人报告心理健康状况良好（90%）、总体健康状况良好（83%）以及有足够的社会支持（77%）。在对受访者性别进行调整后，照料者报告的心理健康状况比非照料者差（过去一个月中，心理健康状况不佳超过15天的优势比（OR）= 1.35，95%置信区间（CI）= 1.31 - 1.39），但总体健康状况较好（健康状况一般或较差的OR = 0.96，95%CI = 0.94 - 0.98）。男性照料者报告的总体健康状况比非照料者稍差（OR = 1.09，95%CI = 1.05 - 1.13），而女性报告的总体健康状况较好。
尽管照料者报告总体幸福感良好，但与非照料者相比，他们仍易出现更差的结果。照料与心理健康不佳有关，并且可能对男性照料者的身体健康产生额外影响。
