Millions of family and friends who help older, disabled adults manage medications and navigate the health system may be sacrificing their own well-being, a new study suggests.
Caregivers who provided "substantial help" with health care in these settings were roughly twice as likely to experience physical, financial and emotional difficulties as those who did not provide that help, the study found.
Such caregivers, if they worked for a living, were three times more likely to be less productive on the job due to caregiving-related distractions and fatigue, according to the analysis.
The researchers believe it's the first nationally representative study of the effects of caregiving experienced by those who assist older adults with health care.
[For more of this story, written by Karen Pallarito, go to http://consumer.healthday.com/...regivers-708061.html]
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