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CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association... Nov 2021
Topics: Bereavement; Death; Female; Humans; Male; Parent-Child Relations; Professional-Family Relations; Spouses
PubMed: 34750180
DOI: 10.1503/cmaj.211127 -
Diabetes Care Jun 2021We investigated the risk of depression and anxiety in people whose spouse did or did not have diabetes. We also examined associations between depression and anxiety and...
OBJECTIVE
We investigated the risk of depression and anxiety in people whose spouse did or did not have diabetes. We also examined associations between depression and anxiety and severity of spouse's diabetes.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS
We analyzed prospective self-reported data about diagnosed depression/anxiety and diabetes in cohabiting couples in the national Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) during 1999-2017 ( = 13,500, 128,833 person-years of follow-up, median follow-up 8.1 years). We used Poisson models to estimate incidence and incidence rate ratios (IRRs) of depression/anxiety, according to spouse's diabetes status overall and by severity of diabetes.
RESULTS
Age-, sex-, and race-adjusted incidence of depression/anxiety was 8.0/1,000 person-years (95% CI 6.5, 9.6) among those whose spouse had diabetes and 6.5/1,000 person-years (95% CI 6.0, 6.9) among those whose spouse did not have diabetes. Those whose spouse had diabetes had higher risk of depression/anxiety (IRR 1.24 [95% CI 1.01, 1.53]). Those whose spouse had diabetes-related limitations in daily activities (IRR 1.89 [95% CI 1.35, 2.67]) and diabetes combined with other chronic conditions (IRR 2.34 [95% CI 1.78, 3.09]) were more likely to develop depression/anxiety, while those whose spouse had diabetes with no limitations or additional chronic conditions had incidence of depression/anxiety similar to that of subjects whose spouses did not have diabetes.
CONCLUSIONS
People living with a spouse with diabetes are at higher risk of developing depression/anxiety than people whose spouse does not have diabetes; this risk is driven by the severity of the spouse's diabetes. Strategies to address the impacts of diabetes on families need to be devised and tested.
Topics: Anxiety; Depression; Diabetes Mellitus; Humans; Incidence; Prospective Studies; Spouses
PubMed: 33863752
DOI: 10.2337/dc20-2652 -
The Journal of Pain Oct 2019Patient beliefs and perceptions about the causes and meaning of their chronic pain are related to their psychosocial functioning. Beliefs and perceptions about chronic...
Patient beliefs and perceptions about the causes and meaning of their chronic pain are related to their psychosocial functioning. Beliefs and perceptions about chronic pain held by spouses may also be related to patient functioning. We used a laboratory procedure to evaluate whether spouse beliefs about and perceptions of chronic pain were related to spouse negative responses toward patients with chronic low back pain during a conflictual discussion and to their attributions about patient pain behavior during a subsequent pain-induction task. Patients (n = 71) and their spouses (n = 71) participated in a 10-minute discussion followed by the patient undergoing a 10-minute structured pain behavior task. Findings were that a) spouse perceptions that patient's pain was a mystery were significantly related to greater patient perceived spouse critical/invalidating responses toward the patient during the discussion; and b) spouse perceptions that patient's pain was a mystery were related to internal and negative attributions spouses made while observing patients display pain behaviors during the structured pain behavior task. Inasmuch as both spouse critical/invalidating speech toward patients and negative attributions regarding the cause of patient behavior are related to poor patient functioning, spouse uncertainty about the source and potential legitimacy of their partner's pain may play crucial roles in affecting patient well-being. PERSPECTIVE: Spouse beliefs about and perceptions of patient chronic pain were related to spouse behavior toward patients during a discussion and to attributions explaining patient pain during physical activity. If spouse confusion and doubt about patient pain is related to negative behavior and attributions, then modifying these perceptions may be a fundamental intervention target.
Topics: Adult; Chronic Pain; Female; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Humans; Illness Behavior; Interpersonal Relations; Male; Middle Aged; Musculoskeletal Pain; Social Perception; Spouses; Uncertainty
PubMed: 30954540
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpain.2019.04.001 -
Journal of the American Medical... Jul 2021Though many studies have explored differences between spouses and adult children in dementia care, empirical evidence is lacking on racial- and ethnic-minority...
OBJECTIVES
Though many studies have explored differences between spouses and adult children in dementia care, empirical evidence is lacking on racial- and ethnic-minority populations. To fill this research gap, this study examined care tasks, caregiver burden, and depressive symptoms of Chinese spouse and adult-child caregivers in dementia care. Guided by the stress process model, this study asked 3 questions: Do spouse and adult-child caregivers take up different care tasks and experience different levels of caregiver burden and depressive symptoms? Does gender moderate the differences between spouse and adult-child caregivers? Whether care tasks and burden mediate the association between being a spouse/adult-child caregiver and depressive symptoms?
SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS
Data were collected from a questionnaire-based survey of Chinese Americans who provided care for their family members with dementia in New York City. The analytical sample included 126 Chinese spouse or adult-child caregivers.
METHODS
Care tasks was indicated by intensity of 8 types of care tasks. Caregiver burden and depressive symptoms were measured by Zarit's Burden Interview and the 10-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Linear regression, interaction term (spouse/adult-child caregiver by gender), and path analysis were conducted to address the 3 questions.
RESULTS
The results of linear regression show no significant difference in care tasks between the 2 groups, but spouse caregivers had significantly higher levels of caregiver burden and depressive symptoms than adult children. Wives had higher levels of caregiver burden and depressive symptoms than husbands, daughters, and sons. Caregiver burden mediated the association between being a spouse caregiver and higher depressive symptoms, whereas care tasks did not shape such association.
CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS
This study highlighted the emotional stress of Chinese American older adults in providing care for their spouses. The findings indicate the necessity of developing culturally meaningful activities to support Chinese American spouse caregivers.
Topics: Adult Children; Aged; Asian; Caregivers; Dementia; Depression; Humans; Spouses
PubMed: 33453175
DOI: 10.1016/j.jamda.2020.12.012 -
Health & Social Care in the Community Jul 2022This study investigates under what conditions older spouses receive personal care from their spouse. Whether spousal care is provided is determined by individual and...
This study investigates under what conditions older spouses receive personal care from their spouse. Whether spousal care is provided is determined by individual and societal factors related to informal and formal care provision. Individual factors concern the need for care (the care recipient's health status), the spouse's ability to provide care (the spouse's health status) and the quality of the marital bond. Societal factors reflect changing policies on long-term care (indicated by the year in which care started) and gender role socialisation (gender). From the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam, which completed eight observations between 1996 and 2016, we selected 221 independently living married respondents, aged 59-93, who received personal care for the first time and had at least one previous measurement without care use. The results show that if an older adult received personal care, the likelihood of receiving that care from the spouse decreased over the years: from 80% in 1996 to 50% in 2016. A husband or wife was less likely to receive spousal care when the spouse was unable to provide care or the quality of the relationship was low. No gender differences were found in either the prevalence of spousal care use or in the factors associated with that use. Thus, individual factors and the societal context seem to determine whether one receives personal care from their spouse. The decline in the likelihood of personal care provision from a spouse over the years may indicate a crumbling of family solidarity, an unmeasured and growing inability of the older spouse to provide care or an increasing complexity of care needs that requires the use of formal care. As care-giving can be a chronic stressor and most spouses provide care without assistance from others, attention from policy makers is needed to sustain the well-being of older couples.
Topics: Aged; Health Status; Humans; Independent Living; Marriage; Self Care; Spouses
PubMed: 34245192
DOI: 10.1111/hsc.13497 -
Pain Dec 2019Pain catastrophizing has been shown to predict greater pain and less physical function in daily life for chronic pain sufferers, but its effects on close social partners...
Pain catastrophizing has been shown to predict greater pain and less physical function in daily life for chronic pain sufferers, but its effects on close social partners have received much less attention. The overall purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which pain catastrophizing is an interpersonal coping strategy that is maladaptive for patients and their spouses. A total of 144 older knee osteoarthritis patients and their spouses completed baseline interviews and a 22-day diary assessment. Multilevel lagged models indicated that, on days when patients reported greater catastrophizing in the morning, their spouses experienced more negative affect throughout the day. In addition, a higher level of punishing responses from the spouse predicted greater pain catastrophizing the next morning, independent of patient pain and negative affect. Multilevel mediation models showed that patients' morning pain catastrophizing indirectly impacted spouses' negative affect and punishing responses through patients' own greater negative affect throughout the day. There was no evidence that spouses' empathic or solicitous responses either followed or preceded patients' catastrophizing. These findings suggest that cognitive-behavioral interventions that reduce pain catastrophizing should be modified for partnered patients to address dyadic interactions and the spouse's role in pain catastrophizing.
Topics: Adaptation, Psychological; Affect; Aged; Catastrophization; Empathy; Female; Humans; Interpersonal Relations; Male; Middle Aged; Osteoarthritis, Knee; Spouses
PubMed: 31408052
DOI: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000001673 -
Taiwanese Journal of Obstetrics &... Aug 2016This study aimed to systematically review the articles on factors affecting sexual function during menopause. Searching articles indexed in Pubmed, Science Direct,... (Review)
Review
This study aimed to systematically review the articles on factors affecting sexual function during menopause. Searching articles indexed in Pubmed, Science Direct, Iranmedex, EMBASE, Scopus, and Scientific Information Database databases, a total number of 42 studies published between 2003 and 2013 were selected. Age, estrogen deficiency, type of menopause, chronic medical problems, partner's sex problems, severity of menopause symptoms, dystocia history, and health status were the physical factors influencing sexual function of menopausal women. There were conflicting results regarding the amount of androgens, hormonal therapy, exercise/physical activity, and obstetric history. In the mental-emotional area, all studies confirmed the impact of depression and anxiety. Social factors, including smoking, alcohol consumption, the quality of relationship with husband, partner's loyalty, sexual knowledge, access to health care, a history of divorce or the death of a husband, living apart from a spouse, and a negative understanding of women's health were found to affect sexual function; however, there were conflicting results regarding the effects of education, occupation, socioeconomic status, marital duration, and frequency of sexual intercourse.
Topics: Age Factors; Anxiety; Depression; Female; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Humans; Menopause; Middle Aged; Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological; Sexual Dysfunctions, Psychological; Sexual Partners; Spouses
PubMed: 27590367
DOI: 10.1016/j.tjog.2016.06.001 -
Behavior Therapy May 2022The dual-process model proposes that early and later bereavement involves different types of stressors and adaptation processes (Stroebe & Schut, 1999, 2010). It is thus...
The dual-process model proposes that early and later bereavement involves different types of stressors and adaptation processes (Stroebe & Schut, 1999, 2010). It is thus possible that different factors facilitate adaptation during the early months versus subsequent years following widowhood. Elevated depressive symptoms, though prevalent after widowhood, may indicate problematic adaptation, as they are associated with poor long-term physical and mental health outcomes. We predicted that neutral death acceptance would be associated with less increase in depression during early widowhood (when confronted with loss-oriented stressors), whereas perceived control would predict depressive symptom decline during later widowhood (when adapting to controllable restoration-oriented stressors). Older adults (N = 265) reported on neutral death acceptance, perceived control, and depression before widowhood and on depression 0.5, 1.5, and 4.0 years after the death of their spouse. Bilinear spline growth modeling revealed that, on average, depressive symptoms increased from before to 0.5 years after spouse death and fell from 0.5 to 4.0 years after spouse death. Neutral death acceptance predicted a smaller increase in depression from before to 0.5 years after spouse death, as well as a smaller subsequent decrease in depression from 0.5 to 4.0 years after spouse death. Perceived control predicted a larger decrease in depression from 0.5 to 4.0 years after spouse death. Neutral death acceptance and perceived control had unique associations with resilience and recovery throughout early and later widowhood. These variables may be fruitful targets in interventions for depression throughout the full course of widowhood.
Topics: Aged; Bereavement; Female; Humans; Spouses; Widowhood
PubMed: 35473647
DOI: 10.1016/j.beth.2021.11.002 -
Supportive Care in Cancer : Official... Nov 2022Due to population aging, the number of older adults with cancer will double in the next 20 years. There is a gap in research about older adults who are the caregiver of... (Review)
Review
PURPOSE
Due to population aging, the number of older adults with cancer will double in the next 20 years. There is a gap in research about older adults who are the caregiver of a spouse with cancer. Therefore, this review seeks to answer the overarching research question: What is known about the association of providing care on Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQOL), psychological distress, burden, and positive aspects of caregiving for an older adult caregiver to a spouse with cancer?
METHODS
This scoping review was guided by the framework of Arksey and O'Malley and refined by Levac et al. Comprehensive search strategies were conducted in Medline, Excerpta Medica Database (EMBASE), PsycINFO, and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) from inception until April 15, 2021. Two independent reviewers screened abstracts, full text, and completed data abstraction. A gray literature search and two stakeholder consultations were conducted.
RESULTS
A total of 8132 abstracts were screened, and 17 articles were included. All studies outlined caregivers provided preventive, instrumental, and protective care to a spouse in active cancer treatment. However, the time spent on caregiving was rarely examined (n = 4). Providing care had a negative association on HRQOL, perceived burden, and psychological distress outcomes. Five studies examined positive experiences of caregivers.
CONCLUSION
The scoping review findings highlight the informal care provided by older adult caregivers to a spouse with cancer and how the care provided is associated with HRQOL, burden, psychological distress, and the positive aspects of caregiving.
Topics: Humans; Aged; Caregivers; Spouses; Quality of Life; Neoplasms; Delivery of Health Care
PubMed: 35661256
DOI: 10.1007/s00520-022-07176-2 -
BMC Psychiatry Dec 2022Mental health disorders can adversely affect relationships and are heritable. Yet, there is a high prevalence of mental illness in spouses and partners of those with...
BACKGROUND
Mental health disorders can adversely affect relationships and are heritable. Yet, there is a high prevalence of mental illness in spouses and partners of those with mental illness. This study will assess within- and cross-mental health disorder correlations in husband-and-wife pairs.
METHODS
A cross-sectional study design was employed using medical claims data from the Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators (DMBA), linked to demographic information from employee eligibility files, 2020. Analyses involved 21,027 contract holders aged 18-64 (68.6% male, 31.4% female), with sub-analyses on 16,543 married individuals. Summary statistics, as well as rates, and rate ratios adjusted for age, sex, and dependent child status were calculated to describe the data.
RESULTS
The rate of stress is 19.2%, anxiety is 26.4%, and depression is 23.6% in spouses of contract holders with the same respective disorders. Rates of stress, anxiety, and depression in a spouse are greatest if the contract holder has schizophrenia. Rates of mental illness in wives of male contract holders experiencing mental health disorders tend to be greater than the rates of mental illness in husbands of female contract holders experiencing mental health disorders. Rates of stress, anxiety, and depression in spouses of contract holders tend to be 2-3 times greater when the contract holder has a mental health disorder, after adjusting for the contract holder's age, sex, dependent child status, and difference in age within husband-and-wife pairs. However, differences in the magnitude of observed associations vary. The rate of a spouse having stress is 5.5 times greater if the contract holder has schizophrenia (vs. does not have schizophrenia), whereas the rate of a spouse having stress is 1.4 times greater if the contract holder has sleep apnea (vs. does not have sleep apnea).
CONCLUSION
Mental health disorders in spouses of contract holders are greater if the contract holder has a mental health disorder, more so when the contract holder has more serious mental illness. Both within- and cross-mental disorder correlations exist. These results have implications on relationship quality and the mental health of offspring.
Topics: Child; Male; Female; Humans; Spouses; Mental Health; Cross-Sectional Studies; Mental Disorders; Sleep Apnea Syndromes
PubMed: 36471289
DOI: 10.1186/s12888-022-04335-x