Skip Navigation


American Journal of Epidemiology Advance Access originally published online on May 14, 2009
American Journal of Epidemiology 2009 170(2):203-210; doi:10.1093/aje/kwp102
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
170/2/203    most recent
kwp102v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Fredman, L.
Right arrow Articles by Cauley, J. A.
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Fredman, L.
Right arrow Articles by Cauley, J. A.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

American Journal of Epidemiology © The Author 2009. Published by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org.

ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTIONS

Caregiving Intensity and Change in Physical Functioning Over a 2-Year Period: Results of the Caregiver-Study of Osteoporotic Fractures

Lisa Fredman, Gheorghe Doros, Kristine E. Ensrud, Marc C. Hochberg and Jane A. Cauley

Correspondence to Dr. Lisa Fredman, Department of Epidemiology, Boston University School of Public Health, 715 Albany Street, Boston, MA 02118 (e-mail: lfredman{at}bu.edu).

Received for publication November 3, 2008. Accepted for publication April 1, 2009.

It is unknown whether caregivers who perform more caregiving tasks have a greater decline in health from higher stress or less decline because of better health, staying active, or psychological factors. This 1999–2004 US study examined caregiving intensity and 2-year change in performance-based functioning among 901 elderly women from the Caregiver-Study of Osteoporotic Fractures sample. Caregivers were categorized as high (n = 167) or low (n = 166) intensity based on how many activities of daily living they performed for the care recipient. Caregiving intensity status and physical performance score (sum of quartiles of walking pace, grip strength, and chair-stand speed; range, 0–9) were assessed at baseline and at 2 annual follow-up interviews. At baseline, high-intensity caregivers reported the most stress but had the best physical functioning; noncaregivers (n = 568) had the poorest physical functioning (adjusted scores = 5.09 vs. 4.54, P = 0.03). Low-intensity caregivers declined more than noncaregivers over 2 years, but high-intensity caregivers did not (adjusted difference = –0.33, P = 0.07 vs. 0.03, P = 0.89). Among respondents with the same caregiving status at baseline and 1-year interviews, high-intensity caregivers maintained the highest physical performance throughout follow-up. Higher levels of physical performance persisted over 2 years among high-intensity caregivers, which did not support the traditional stress hypothesis.

activities of daily living; caregivers; disability evaluation

Abbreviations: ADL, activities of daily living; IADL, instrumental activities of daily living; SOF, Study of Osteoporotic Fractures


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.