Table 1.
Descriptive information for the incident caregivers and matched noncaregiving controls
| Variable | Incident caregivers (n = 239) | Noncaregiving controls (n = 241) |
| Sex, female, N (%) | 155 (65) | 157 (65) |
| Race, African American, N (%) | 85 (36) | 84 (35) |
| Education at REGARDS enrollment, N (%) | ||
| College graduate | 101 (42) | 112 (47) |
| Some college | 73 (31) | 65 (27) |
| High school graduate | 56 (23) | 54 (22) |
| Less than high school graduate | 9 (4) | 10 (4) |
| Marital status at Transitions interview, N (%) | ||
| Married/cohabiting | 180 (75) | 183 (76) |
| Widowed | 18 (8) | 22 (9) |
| Divorced/separated | 25 (10) | 23 (10) |
| Single/never married | 16 (7) | 13 (5) |
| Age at REGARDS enrollment, y, M (SD) | 59.9 (7.7) | 59.9 (7.2) |
| Age at REGARDS second in-home assessment, y, M (SD) | 69.1 (7.9) | 69.1 (7.4) |
| Age at Transitions interview, y, M (SD) | 71.6 (8.0) | 72.2 (7.7) |
| Duration between REGARDS first and second in-home assessments, y, M (SD) | 9.3 (0.9) | 9.3 (0.8) |
| Duration of caregiving before REGARDS second in-home assessment, y, M (SD) | 3.4 (2.4) | — |
| Duration of caregiving before Transitions interview, y, M (SD) | 5.8 (2.5) | — |
| Amount of caregiving time per week at Transitions interview, h, M (SD) | 43.2 (29.3) | — |
| Caregiver’s relationship with care recipient, N (%) | — | |
| Spouse | 120 (50) | |
| Adult child | 60 (25) | |
| Other | 59 (25) | |
| Care recipient’s condition, N (%)* | — | |
| Dementia/serious cognitive impairment | 111 (46) | |
| Physical disability/frailty | 43 (18) | |
| Stroke | 28 (12) | |
| Other diseases or disabilities | 94 (39) | |
| Caregiving strain | — | |
| None | 36 (15) | |
| Some | 140 (59) | |
| A lot | 63 (26) |
*
Percentages exceed 100% because several caregivers reported more than one condition.