RT Journal Article
T1 Health-related quality of life in caregivers of community-dwelling individuals with disabilities or chronic conditions. A gender-differentiated analysis in a cross-sectional study.
A1 Rico Blázquez, Milagros
A1 Quesada Cubo, Víctor
A1 Polentinos Castro, Elena
A1 Sánchez Ruano, Raquel
A1 Rayo Gómez, M Ángeles
A1 Del Cura González, Isabel
AB BackgroundMost care for people with chronic or disabling conditions living in the community is provided in the family context, and this care is traditionally provided by women. Providing informal care has a negative impact on caregivers’ quality of life, which adds to existing health inequalities associated with gender. The aim of this study was to analyze factors associated with the health-related quality of life of caregivers and to determine their differences in a gender-differentiated analysis.MethodsAn observational, cross-sectional, multicenter study was conducted in primary healthcare. A total of 218 caregivers aged 65 years or older were included, all of whom assumed the primary responsibility for caring for people with disabling conditions for at least 6 months per year and agreed to participate in the CuidaCare study. The dependent variable was health-related quality of life, assessed with the EQ-5D. The explanatory variables tested were grouped into sociodemographic variables, subjective burden, caregiving role, social support and variables related to the dependent person. The associations between these variables and health-related quality of life were estimated by fitting robust linear regression models. Separate analyses were conducted for women and men.ResultsA total of 72.8% of the sample were women, and 27.2% were men. The mean score on the EQ-5D for female caregivers was 0.64 (0.31); for male caregivers, it was 0.79 (0.23). There were differences by gender in the frequency of reported problems in the dimensions of pain/comfort and anxiety/depression. The variables that were associated with quality of life also differed. Having a positive depression screening was negatively associated with quality of life for both genders: -0.31 points (95% CI: -0.47; -0.15) for female caregivers and -0.48 points (95% CI: -0.92; -0.03) for male caregivers. Perceived burden was associated with quality of life in the adjusted model for women (-0.12 points; 95% CI: -0.19; -0.06), and domestic help was associated in the adjusted model for male caregivers (-0.12 points; 95% CI: -0.19; -0.05).ConclusionsGender differences are present in informal caregiving. The impact of providing informal care is different for male and female caregivers, and so are the factors that affect their perceived quality of life. It could be useful it incorporates a gender perspective in the design of nursing support interventions for caregivers to individualize care and improve the quality of life of caregivers.Trial registrationNCT 01478295 [https://ClinicalTrials.gov]. 23/11/2011.
PB BioMed Central Ltd
SN 1472-6955
YR 2022
FD 2022-03-29
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/122494
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/122494
LA eng
NO Rico-Blázquez M, Quesada-Cubo V, Polentinos-Castro E, Sánchez-Ruano R, Rayo-Gómez MÁ, del Cura-González I, et al. Health-related quality of life in caregivers of community-dwelling individuals with disabilities or chronic conditions. A gender-differentiated analysis in a cross-sectional study. BMC Nursing. 2022;21(1).
NO Este trabajo fue financiado por el Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias del Instituto de Salud Carlos III (número de subvención PI11/02132) y cofinanciado por el Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) “Una manera de hacer Europa”, en el marco del Plan Nacional de I+D+I 2008–2011. Este proyecto recibió una ayuda para la traducción y publicación de este artículo de la Fundación para la Investigación e Innovación Biosanitaria en Atención Primaria de la Comunidad de Madrid (FIIBAP). MRB recibió un premio como ganadora de la fase final del Tercer concurso Three-Minute Thesis® 2019 de la Comunidad de Madrid.  Los financiadores no participaron en el diseño del estudio; en la recopilación, análisis o interpretación de los datos; en la redacción del informe; ni en la decisión de enviar el artículo para su publicación.
DS Docta Complutense
RD 18 dic 2025