The association between informal caregiving and behavioral risk factors: a cross-sectional study

TY - JOUR

T1 - The association between informal caregiving and behavioral risk factors: a cross-sectional study

AU - Gottschalk, Sophie

AU - König, Hans-Helmut

AU - Brettschneider, Christian

PY - 2020/7

Y1 - 2020/7

N2 - OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to compare informal caregivers/dementia caregivers to non-caregivers regarding alcohol consumption, smoking behavior, obesity, and insufficient physical activity and to identify caregiving-related factors (caregiving intensity, length of caregiving, relationship to the care recipient, and type of caregiving task) which are associated with behavioral risk factors in caregivers/dementia caregivers.METHODS: Using cross-sectional data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, we performed the statistical analyses applying logistic regression models and accounted for confounding using the entropy balancing approach.RESULTS: For caregivers (n = 12,044), the odds of overweight/obesity and smoking were higher (OR = 1.14/1.34, p < 0.05) and the odds of binge drinking and insufficient physical activity were lower (OR = 0.86/0.83, p < 0.05) than for non-caregivers (n = 45,925). For dementia caregivers, results point in the same direction. Caregiving-related variables tend to influence the likelihood of behavioral risk factors, but depending on the kind of factor considered, in different directions.CONCLUSIONS: Being a caregiver is associated with risky and health-promoting behavior. However, the effects are relatively low. Future studies should study potential pathways between caregiving characteristics, psychological impacts of caregiving, health behavior, and mental or physical health.

AB - OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to compare informal caregivers/dementia caregivers to non-caregivers regarding alcohol consumption, smoking behavior, obesity, and insufficient physical activity and to identify caregiving-related factors (caregiving intensity, length of caregiving, relationship to the care recipient, and type of caregiving task) which are associated with behavioral risk factors in caregivers/dementia caregivers.METHODS: Using cross-sectional data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, we performed the statistical analyses applying logistic regression models and accounted for confounding using the entropy balancing approach.RESULTS: For caregivers (n = 12,044), the odds of overweight/obesity and smoking were higher (OR = 1.14/1.34, p < 0.05) and the odds of binge drinking and insufficient physical activity were lower (OR = 0.86/0.83, p < 0.05) than for non-caregivers (n = 45,925). For dementia caregivers, results point in the same direction. Caregiving-related variables tend to influence the likelihood of behavioral risk factors, but depending on the kind of factor considered, in different directions.CONCLUSIONS: Being a caregiver is associated with risky and health-promoting behavior. However, the effects are relatively low. Future studies should study potential pathways between caregiving characteristics, psychological impacts of caregiving, health behavior, and mental or physical health.

U2 - doi.org/10.1007/s00038-020-01402-6

DO - doi.org/10.1007/s00038-020-01402-6

M3 - SCORING: Journal article

VL - 65

SP - 911

EP - 921

JO - INT J PUBLIC HEALTH

JF - INT J PUBLIC HEALTH

SN - 1661-8556

IS - 6

ER -