Do Inflammation Markers Moderate Associations Between Caregiving and Quality of Life, Health, and Depression?. (17th December 2021) - Orsega-Smith, Elizabeth
Abstract: Caregiving responsibilities can put stress and strain on older adults including emotional distress, depression, decline in physical functioning, and decreased self- reported quality of life. Chronic stress such as from caregiving may be related to chronic inflammation, but this has been less widely examined. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine whether the association between caregiving and outcomes including quality of life indicators, self-rated health, and depressive symptoms are moderated by physical activity, stress coping, diet quality inflammatory index, and selected biomarkers of inflammation. We used data from waves 3 and 4 of the Healthy Aging in Neighborhoods of Diversity across the Life Span (HANDLS) study. In wave 3, 733 reported caregiving for grandchildren. They were mostly African American (59%) and female (55%) with a mean age was 47.7 years at the start of the study. In linear regression models, caregiving for grandchildren (CGC) predicted higher depressive symptoms and lower quality of life and self-rated health. Results demonstrated that the association between erythrocytes sedimentation rate (ESR) was a significant moderator between CGC and quality of life, self-rated health, and depressive symptoms (p<0.05). In a separate analysis of wave 4 data (152 reported caregiving for elders), serum magnesium was a significant moderator between caregiving for elders and both quality of life and self-rated health (p<0.05). These results suggest that inflammatory factors may influence the health of diverse older adult caregivers. Further (or Future) research may evaluate the effect of these moderators over time.