Caregiving intensity and duration, cardiovascular disease, and race/ethnicity in family caregivers of persons with dementia.
Dawon Baik, Sophia Centi, Bryan McNair
PMID 38354660WHAT IT FOUND
Family caregivers of people with dementia who provide 40 or more hours of care per week report significantly higher rates of stroke, heart disease, heart attack, diabetes, and depression than those providing 8 hours or less.
These risks were not linked to how long the caregiving had lasted.
Key findings
01Caregivers providing 40 or more hours of care per week had higher rates of stroke, angina/coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction, diabetes, depression, and smoking than those providing 8 hours or less.
02Caregiving duration (how long care had been provided) was not significantly associated with any cardiovascular disease diagnosis, including stroke, angina, or myocardial infarction.
03The associations between caregiving intensity and cardiovascular risks did not differ significantly by race or ethnicity.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study design is cross-sectional, so it cannot prove that caregiving caused the cardiovascular issues; pre-existing conditions may have influenced caregiving intensity. All data, including diagnoses and caregiving hours, were self-reported, which introduces the possibility of recall bias. Key cardiovascular risk factors such as diet, hypertension, and cholesterol were not available in the dataset and could not be controlled for. The sample was predominantly non-Hispanic White (77%), and minority groups were collapsed into an 'Other' category, which may have reduced the ability to detect racial or ethnic differences. The analysis did not control for additional variables to avoid overfitting the model, meaning other confounders (e.g., socioeconomic status, comorbidities) may explain some associations.
Declared interests
The research was supported by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The authors declare no other conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that caregiving duration increases cardiovascular risk. This study found no significant association between how long someone had been caregiving and their likelihood of having stroke, heart disease, or heart attack. The risk was linked to the weekly intensity of care, not the total time spent caregiving.