Mental and physical illness in caregivers: Results from an English national survey sample
Open accessAbstract
Background: Caregivers make a significant and growing contribution to the social and medical care of people with long-standing disorders. The effective provision of this care is dependent on their own continuing health. Aims: To investigate the relationship between weekly time spent caregiving and psychiatric and physical morbidity in a representative sample of the population of England. Method: Primary outcome measures were obtained from the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey 2007. Self-report measures of mental and physical health were used, along with total symptom scores for common mental disorder derived from the Clinical Interview Schedule – Revised. Results: In total, 25% (n = 1883) of the sample identified themselves as caregivers. They had poorer mental health and higher psychiatric symptom scores than non-caregivers. There was an observable decline in mental health above 10 h per week. A twofold increase in psychiatric symptom scores in the clinical range was recorded in those providing care for more than 20 h per week. In adjusted analyses, there was no excess of physical disorders in caregivers. Conclusions: We found strong evidence that caregiving affects the mental health of caregivers. Distress frequently reaches clinical thresholds, particularly in those providing most care. Strategies for maintaining the mental health of caregivers are needed, particularly as demographic changes are set to increase involvement in caregiving roles.
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The 2007 Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey reported that 25% of 1883 participants were carers.
“The 2007 Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey (APMS) reported that 25% of 1883 participants were carers (Smith et al., 2014).”
From eHealth interventions for family carers of people with long term illness: A promising approach? (2018) · cites this paper as Smith et al., 2014
There is a direct relationship between the physical and mental health of carers and the amount of care they provide: as the amount of care increases, the health of carers worsens.
“Of note, there is a direct relationship between the physical and mental health of carers, and the amount of care they provide: as the amount of care increases, the health of carers worsens (Smith et al., 2014).”
From eHealth interventions for family carers of people with long term illness: A promising approach? (2018) · cites this paper as Smith et al., 2014
In the United Kingdom and the United States, nearly one-fourth of the adult population identifies itself as a carer for a loved one who is ill, disabled, or elderly.
“In the United Kingdom and the United States, nearly one-fourth of the adult population identifies itself as a carer for a loved one who is ill, disabled, or elderly [2,3].”
From A multicomponent eHealth intervention for family Carers for people affected by psychosis: a coproduced design and build study (2019) · cites this paper as [2]
Caring demands can jeopardize carers' well-being.
“Conversely, it is well established that caring demands can jeopardize carers’ well-being [2,13,14].”
From A multicomponent eHealth intervention for family Carers for people affected by psychosis: a coproduced design and build study (2019) · cites this paper as [2]
Carers' psychiatric symptom scores (eg, depression and anxiety) are consistently inversely associated with the amount of care they provide; carers' mental health worsens with increasing demands on caregiving.
“Indeed, distress in carers frequently reaches clinical thresholds, and their psychiatric symptom scores (eg, depression and anxiety) are found to be consistently inversely associated with the amount of care they provide, that is, carers’ mental health worsens with increasing demands on caregiving [2,10,15].”
From A multicomponent eHealth intervention for family Carers for people affected by psychosis: a coproduced design and build study (2019) · cites this paper as [2]
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- Authors
- Smith, L., Onwumere, J., Craig, T., McManus, S., Bebbington, P., & Kuipers, E.
- Affiliations
- King's College London (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Smith, Lindsay
- Venue
- British Journal of Psychiatry
- Publisher
- Royal College of Psychiatrists
- Published
- 2014-09
- Volume
- 205
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 197-203
- ISSN
- 0007-1250 (ISSN-L)
- 1472-1465
- OpenAlex
- W2040778952
- Cited by
- 114
- References
- 39
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 19 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 14 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 1
- FWCI
- 10.62
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- The British Journal of Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
- Research Portal (King's College London) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute for Health and Care Research (NF-SI-0611-10103)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Family Caregiving in Mental Illness
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Pharmacy › Nursing care and research
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving
- Keywords
- caregivers, caregiver burden, mental health, physical health, psychiatric morbidity, physical illness, common mental disorders, Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Mental Disorders, England, Female, Health Status, Health Surveys, Humans, Male, Mental Health, Middle Aged, Social Support, Stress, Psychological, Caregivers
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