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Cited by 171Nursing care and researchIntergenerational Family Dynamics and CaregivingFamily Caregiving in Mental Illness

Reverberations of family illness: A longitudinal assessment of informal caregiving and mental health status in the Nurses' Health Study

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Cannuscio, Carolyn C., Jones, Camara, Kawachi, Ichiro, Colditz, Graham A., Berkman, Lisa, Rimm, Eric·2002·American Journal of Public Health
DOI 10.2105/ajph.92.8.1305PMC PMC1447235
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Abstract

0bjectives. This study examined the association between caregiving for disabled or ill family members, estimated to occur in more than 22 million US households, and change in mental health. Methods. We assessed 4-year change in mental health among 37 742 Nurses’ Health Study participants with the Medical Outcomes Study Short-Form 36. Results. Women who provided 36 or more weekly hours of care to a disabled spouse were almost 6 times more likely than noncaregivers to experience depressive or anxious symptoms (multivariate odds ratio [OR] = 5.6; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 3.8, 8.3). Caring for a disabled or ill parent (≥ 36 weekly hours) was associated with a less dramatic elevation in depressive or anxious symptoms (multivariate OR = 2.0; 95% CI = 0.9, 4.3). Conclusions. In this population, caregiving was associated with increased risk of depressive or anxious symptoms.

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  • Resistance to glucocorticoids and mild systemic inflammation have been implicated in the pathogenesis of depression, suggesting that the dynamics observed may help explain affective difficulties among caregivers.

    “Notably, resistance to glucocorticoids and mild, systemic inflammation have also been implicated in the pathogenesis of depression (15,40–42), suggesting that the dynamics observed herein may help explain the affective difficulties often found among caregivers (43).”

    From A Functional Genomic Fingerprint of Chronic Stress in Humans: Blunted Glucocorticoid and Increased NF-κB Signaling (2008) · cites this paper as [43]

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Cited by

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Authors
Cannuscio, C. C., Jones, C., Kawachi, I., Colditz, G. A., Berkman, L., & Rimm, E.
Affiliations
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US)
ORCID
Venue
American Journal of Public Health
Publisher
American Public Health Association
Published
2002-08
Volume
92
Issue
8
Pages
1305-1311
ISSN
  • 0090-0036 (ISSN-L)
  • 1541-0048
DOI
10.2105/ajph.92.8.1305
PMC
PMC1447235
OpenAlex
W2067620245
Cited by
171
References
3
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 8 · 2014: 11 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 8
FWCI
16.57
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • American Journal of Public Health (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard (DASH) (Harvard University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
National Cancer Institute (R01CA040356, CA-40356)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › Pharmacy › Nursing care and research
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Family Caregiving in Mental Illness
Keywords
informal care, family caregivers, caregiver burden, depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, mental health, parents with disabilities, women caregivers, Nurses' Health Study, longitudinal change
MeSH terms
Adult, Aged, Anxiety, Depressive Disorder, Family Health, Female, Home Nursing, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Mental Health, Middle Aged, Parents, United States, Cohort Studies, Odds Ratio, Women's Health, Caregivers, Cost of Illness, Sickness Impact Profile, Spouses

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