Table 3.
Health outcomes as a function of caregiver status across propensity-matched groups
| Non-caregivers (n = 1297) | Caregivers (n = 1297) | Total (n = 2594) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean/% | SD/n | Mean/% | SD/n | Mean/% | SD/n | ||
| PHQ-9 | 3.09 | 4.68 | 4.39* | 5.47 | 3.74 | 5.13 | |
| PHQ-9: category | PHQ-9: < 10 | 91.4 % | 1185 | 85.8 % | 1113* | 90.9 % | 2298 |
| PHQ-9: ≥ 10 (MDD) | 8.6 % | 112 | 14.2 % | 184* | 9.1 % | 296 | |
| Diagnosed comorbidities | |||||||
| Depression | 3.2 % | 42 | 6.2 % | 80* | 3.4 % | 122 | |
| Insomnia | 5.7 % | 74 | 9.8 % | 127* | 4.5 % | 201 | |
| Anxiety | 0.4 % | 5 | 1.9 % | 25* | 0.9 % | 30 | |
| Hypertension | 17.3 % | 225 | 17.4 % | 226 | 11.8 % | 451 | |
| Pain | 10.6 % | 138 | 15.5 % | 201* | 8.1 % | 339 | |
| Diabetes (Type 1/2) | 7.9 % | 103 | 6.1 % | 79 | 3.7 % | 182 | |
| SF-6D | 0.764 | 0.123 | 0.724* | 0.124 | 0.744 | 0.125 | |
| SF-36v2: Physical Component Summary | 52.73 | 6.71 | 51.60* | 6.61 | 52.17 | 6.69 | |
| SF-36v2: Mental Component Summary | 48.60 | 9.52 | 46.00* | 10.65 | 47.30 | 10.18 | |
| WPAI: % absenteeism: work missed due to healtha | 3.08 | 12.30 | 5.40* | 15.81 | 4.25 | 14.23 | |
| WPAI: % presenteeism-related impairment: impairment while working due to healtha | 18.44 | 23.83 | 22.74* | 25.39 | 20.62 | 24.72 | |
| WPAI: % overall work impairmenta | 20.36 | 25.66 | 25.75* | 28.18 | 23.09 | 27.09 | |
| WPAI: % activity impairment | 21.79 | 25.37 | 25.41* | 25.82 | 23.60 | 25.66 | |
| Emergency room visits, past 6 months | 0.08 | 0.56 | 0.27* | 1.68 | 0.18 | 1.26 | |
| Hospitalizations, past 6 months | 0.81 | 6.72 | 0.79 | 5.15 | 0.80 | 5.99 | |
| Traditional healthcare provider visits, past 6 months | 5.35 | 8.59 | 7.70* | 18.50 | 6.53 | 14.47 | |
| Emergency room visits (1+), past 6 months | 4.0 % | 52 | 7.2 % | 94* | 3.3 % | 146 | |
| Hospitalizations (1+), past 6 months | 5.1 % | 66 | 8.1 % | 105* | 4.1 % | 171 | |
| Traditional healthcare provider visits (1+), past 6 months | 61.9 % | 803 | 74.9 % | 971* | 57.0 % | 1774 | |
Caregivers were defined as those currently caring for an adult relative with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia, whereas non-caregivers were those not currently caring for an adult relative with any listed condition
MDD major depressive disorder, PHQ patient health questionnaire, SD standard deviation, SF short form, WPAI work productivity and activity impairment
*p < 0.05 for the two-tailed significance of differences across caregivers and non-caregivers within a given row
aAbsenteeism and overall work impairment results were available only for employed respondents, excluding those who both worked and missed 0 h, as well as outliers who reported > 112 potential work hours in the past week (n = 1364: 691 caregivers and 673 non-caregivers). Presenteeism-related impairment results were available only for employed respondents who worked > 0 h in the past week (n = 1397: 709 caregivers and 688 non-caregivers)