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. 2025 Jul 1;15:21121. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-08067-2

Table 2.

Physical and mental health variables by caregiver status.

Non-caregivers Non-live-in caregivers Live-in caregivers P*
n (%)
M (SE)
CI 95% n (%)
M (SE)
CI 95% n (%)
M (SE)
CI 95%
Perceived limitation 0.141
No 898 (57%) 49%;64% 146 (69%) 49%;83% 81 (41%) 23%;61%
Yes 808 (43%) 36%;51% 64 (31%) 17%;51% 86 (59%) 39%;77%
Chronic diseases 0.778
< 2 677 (56%) 47%;65% 101 (51%) 31%;70% 58 (53%) 33%;72%
≥ 2 1028 (44%) 35%;53% 109 (50%) 30%;69% 109 (47%) 28%;67%
N. of chronic diseases 1.6 (0.14) 1.4;1.9 1.7 (0.19) 1.4;2.1 2.0 (0.28) 1.5;2.6 0.390
Depression Euro-D 0.023 b, c
No 1116 (78%) 72%;84% 156 (75%) 55%;88% 86 (36%) 21%;56%
Yes 460 (22%) 16%;28% 50 (25%) 12%;45% 71 (64% a) 44%;79%

Depression EuroD

(Range:1–12)

2.2 (0.18) 1.8;2.5 2.7 (0.20) 2.3;3.1 4.4 (0.60) 3.2;5.6 0.002 b, c

Perceived health

(1: Excelent-5: Poor)

3.3 (0.09) 3.1;3.5 3.1 (0.20) 2.7;3.5 3.6 (0.11) 3.4;3.9 0.025 b, c
N. of different drugs /week 1.9 (0.16) 1.6;2.3 1.6 (0.19) 1.3;1.9 2.7 (0.29) 2.1;3.3 0.007 b, c
Loneliness UCLA LS3
Not lonely 1048 (64%) 56%;72% 157 (71%) 48%;87% 108 (53%) 30%;74% 0.578
Lonely 554 (36%) 28%;44% 52 (29%) 13%;52% 53 (47%) 26%;67%
Loneliness UCLA LS3 (Range: 3–9) 3.8 (0.10) 3.6;4.0 3.5 (0.19) 3.1;3.9 4.2 (0.39) 3.5;5.0 0.191

QoL CASP-12

(Range: 12–48)

37.9 (0.52) 36.8;38.9 38.5 (0.97) 36.6;40.4 33.0 (1.25) 30.5;35.5 0.001 b, c

In bold, p < 0.05.

M (SE) mean (standard error), CI 95% Confidence Interval 95%.

*Chi square test (categorical variables) or adjusted Wald test (continuous variables).

aPairwise comparison statistically significant (p < 0.05) between non-caregivers and non-live-in caregivers.

bPairwise comparison statistically significant (p < 0.05) between non-live-in caregivers and live-in caregivers.

cPairwise comparison statistically significant (p < 0.05) between non-caregivers and live-in caregivers.