Caregiving and changes in health-related behaviour

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Public Health
• Sociology

Background:

• Informal caregivers may face health risks linked to behavioral changes, but empirical evidence remains limited.
• Understanding how caregiving impacts health-related behaviors is crucial for developing effective support strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate changes in smoking, drinking, eating, physical activity, and leisure pursuits among informal caregivers.
• To examine if these behavioral associations differ by caregiving type (co-resident vs. out-of-home), sex, education, and European welfare state typology.

Main Methods:

• Longitudinal study using six waves of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (2004–2017).
• Analysis of data from 57,962 adults aged 50+ across 17 European countries.
• Fixed effects logistic models applied to repeated measures of caregiving and behaviors, controlling for confounders.

Main Results:

• Male caregivers providing co-resident care showed increased unhealthy eating and decreased smoking.
• Female caregivers showed minimal behavioral changes with co-resident care.
• Out-of-home caregiving was associated with increased drinking, especially among lower-educated individuals in non-Nordic countries, and reduced physical activity and leisure.

Conclusions:

• Increased alcohol consumption during out-of-home caregiving is a consistent finding, particularly for specific demographic groups.
• Behavioral changes in caregivers are not uniform and depend on the type of care, specific behavior, and individual characteristics.
• Findings highlight opportunities for targeted interventions to prevent adverse health behavior changes in informal caregivers.