Associations between age, gender and health deterioration in caregivers aged 75 and older in Spain: an observational study

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to explore how age and gender are associated with health deterioration related to caregiving among caregivers aged 75 and older in Spain. DESIGN: Observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study. SETTING: Nationwide survey in Spain: 2020 Survey on Disability, Personal Autonomy and Situations of Dependency. PARTICIPANTS: All non-professional caregivers identified by the survey (3746): 3166 caregivers younger than 75 (CG75-) and 580 caregivers 75 years old or older (CG75+). PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURE: Self-reported caregivers' health deterioration, as a categorical variable (present or absent). RESULTS: The majority of caregivers in both groups were women (63.2% of CG75- and 57.0% of CG75+, p=0.011). CG75+ provided care 16 hours/day (vs 14.1 hours/day of CG75-, p=0.032). Over half of CG75+ reported health deterioration (53.0%), compared with 43.5% of CG75- (p