Association Between a Family Caregiver's Relationship to Persons With Dementia and Cardiovascular Disease by Race and Ethnicity: A Secondary Analysis of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Data.
Dawon Baik, Sophia Centi, Sarah J Schmiege
PMID 39791509WHAT IT FOUND
Spouse caregivers of people with dementia had higher rates of diabetes, stroke, heart disease, and heart attacks than adult children or other relatives.
Depression and smoking patterns varied by race. This is observational data; it does not prove caregiving caused these conditions.
Key findings
01Spouse caregivers were significantly more likely to have diabetes, stroke, angina/coronary heart disease, and myocardial infarction compared to adult children and other relatives.
02The association between caregiving relationship and depression differed by race: non-Hispanic Black spouses reported higher depression rates than non-Hispanic Black adult children or parents.
03Spouse caregivers were less likely to exercise and more likely to have obesity compared to adult children and other relatives, though heavy drinking was less common among spouses.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study is cross-sectional, so it cannot determine whether caregiving caused the health conditions or if people with pre-existing conditions became caregivers. All data was self-reported, which may lead to underreporting of weight, smoking, and alcohol use. The study did not account for the severity or type of dementia in the care recipient, nor did it measure how long the caregiving had been occurring. Analyses for some racial and ethnic minority groups were underpowered due to small sample sizes, requiring some groups to be combined. Key confounders like hypertension, cholesterol, diet, sleep, and anxiety were not measured in the BRFSS dataset.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The study was supported by non-U.S. government and NIH extramural funding.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that becoming a spouse caregiver causes heart disease or diabetes. This study shows an association at one point in time. Spouse caregivers are often older and may have had these conditions before starting to care for their partner. The data does not prove that caregiving itself damaged their health.