TY - JOUR
T1 - Reverberations of family illness
T2 - A longitudinal assessment of informal caregiving and mental health status in the nurses' health study
AU - Cannuscio, Carolyn C.
AU - Jones, Camara
AU - Kawachi, Ichiro
AU - Colditz, Graham A.
AU - Berkman, Lisa
AU - Rimm, Eric
PY - 2002
Y1 - 2002
N2 - Objectives. This study examined the association between caregiving for disabled or ill family members, estimated to occur in more than 22 million US households, and change in mental health. Methods. We assessed 4-year change in mental health among 37 742 Nurses' Health Study participants with the Medical Outcomes Study Short-Form 36. Results. Women who provided 36 or more weekly hours of care to a disabled spouse were almost 6 times more likely than noncaregivers to experience depressive or anxious symptoms (multivariate odds ratio [OR] = 5.6; 95% confidence interval [Cl] = 3.8, 8.3). Caring for a disabled or ill parent (≳36 weekly hours) was associated with a less dramatic elevation in depressive or anxious symptoms (multivariate OR=2.0; 95% Cl = 0.9, 4.3). Conclusions. In this population, caregiving was associated with increased risk of depressive or anxious symptoms.
AB - Objectives. This study examined the association between caregiving for disabled or ill family members, estimated to occur in more than 22 million US households, and change in mental health. Methods. We assessed 4-year change in mental health among 37 742 Nurses' Health Study participants with the Medical Outcomes Study Short-Form 36. Results. Women who provided 36 or more weekly hours of care to a disabled spouse were almost 6 times more likely than noncaregivers to experience depressive or anxious symptoms (multivariate odds ratio [OR] = 5.6; 95% confidence interval [Cl] = 3.8, 8.3). Caring for a disabled or ill parent (≳36 weekly hours) was associated with a less dramatic elevation in depressive or anxious symptoms (multivariate OR=2.0; 95% Cl = 0.9, 4.3). Conclusions. In this population, caregiving was associated with increased risk of depressive or anxious symptoms.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0036311484&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.2105/AJPH.92.8.1305
DO - 10.2105/AJPH.92.8.1305
M3 - Article
C2 - 12144989
AN - SCOPUS:0036311484
SN - 0090-0036
VL - 92
SP - 1305
EP - 1311
JO - American journal of public health
JF - American journal of public health
IS - 8
ER -