At the 2008 Rocky Mountain Geriatrics Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, Richard Schulz, Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, reported on the results of his research about caregiver health and mortality. After tracking hundreds of caregivers over several years, here's what he found:
- Becoming what Schulz calls a heavy caregiver -- meaning that the caregiver must start helping the care recipient with activities of daily living (ADLs) -- is associated with the higher rates of depression, poorer health, poorer self-care habits, unintended weight loss, and increased chronic illness.
- Over time, caregivers who must persistently help care recipients with ADLs tend to physically decline more rapidly than those who are not caregivers.
- Increased caregiver strain, such as advancing from "light" caregiving duties to "heavy" ones, tends to increase caregiver mortality. In other words, caregivers who have heavier caregiving duties are more likely to die from any cause than caregivers with lighter duties.
Schulz's research shouldn't be taken lightly. If you're a caregiver who regularly helps your loved one with ADLs, it's crucial for you to find time to rest, exercise, eat right, socialize, and take a break from caregiving every now and then. If this seems like a tall order, consider the alternative -- your own health and mortality may be at risk. What will happen to your relative if something happens to you? For lots of ideas about how to take good care of yourself, see my article on Why Caregivers Need Respite.
Sources:
Schulz, R. (2008, September). Intervening to support caregivers of persons with dementia. Paper presentation at the 6th Annual Rocky Mountain Geriatrics Conference, Salt Lake City, Utah.
Schulz, R., & Beach, S. R. (1999). Caregiving as a risk factor for mortality: The Caregiver Health Effects Study. JAMA, 285(24), 3123-3129.
