ArticleSocial science & medicine (1982)2019
Physical and mental health of Chinese grandparents caring for grandchildren and great-grandparents.
Article in Social science & medicine (1982), 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 47 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
47 citing papers in PubMed, 187 citations in OpenAlex.
- "How difficult it is to change dietary behaviour" experience of older people with sarcopenic obesity: a qualitative study.BMC geriatrics · 2024Trial
- Land circulation impacts the physical and mental health of the elderly in rural Chinese households.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- A qualitative study on the self-management experience and needs of postmenopausal patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease from the perspective of active health.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Patterns of multiple caregiving and the influence on depressive symptoms among middle-aged and older adults in China.European journal of ageing · 2025Article
- Balancing roles and well-being in later life: insights from Chinese older women's life course.BMC public health · 2025Article
- The relationship between taking care of grandchildren and grandparents' depression.BMC psychology · 2025Article
- Productive engagement patterns and their association with life satisfaction among elderly sandwich generation.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Walking out of the shadows: Exploring the complexities of motherhood and intergenerational realities in the families of three Taiwanese comfort women survivors.Transcultural psychiatry · 2025Article
- Perceptions and recommendations of multiparas and health-related professionals on appropriate birth intervals: A descriptive qualitative study.International journal of nursing sciences · 2025Article
- Prevalence and Determinants of Depressive Symptoms in Older Adults Across Europe: Evidence from SHARE Wave 9.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Emergency Department Visits for Pediatric Poisoning in China: A 318-Case Review.Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research · 2025Article
- Impact of Family Environment in Rural China on Loneliness, Depression, and Internet Addiction Among Children and Adolescents.European journal of investigation in health, psychology and education · 2025Article
- Late-Life Informal Social Participation, Physical and Cognitive Functions Among the Chinese Elderly: A Life Course Perspective.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- The moderating role of caring for grandchildren in the relationship between functional abilities and depression of aged parents in rural China.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- The impact of grandchild caregiving on depression among grandparents: a scoping review.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Dyadic Associations of Parenting Stress, Family Resilience, and Coping Styles Among Parents and Grandparents in Intergenerational Co-Parenting Families.Nursing research and practice · 2025Article
- Understanding facilitators and barriers to adherence in home-based pulmonary rehabilitation for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients using the Health Belief Model: a qualitative study.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Multidimensional health status and its impact on health care consumption behavior among elderly people with chronic diseases: evidence from CHARLS in China.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- Effects of family socioeconomic status on the self-expectations of children under grandparenting in China.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Network analysis of the relationships between depressive symptoms and social participation activities among Chinese older adults and its implications for nursing.International journal of nursing sciences · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author at 1 institution in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
The increasing worldwide prevalence and intensity of grandparenting has attracted an attention to its health implications for caregivers against the backdrop of population aging. Thanks to prolonged life expectancy and reduced infant mortality, extended families that comprise four generations, co-residential or not, are no longer rare in China. The current study examines health consequences when Chinese grandparents provide care to not only grandchildren but also their own elderly parents or parents-in-law (i.e., great-grandparents). Drawing on data from the 2011-2013 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), mental health was captured by levels of life satisfaction and depressive symptoms, and physical health was measured by levels of high sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP), hypertension, high-risk pulse rate, and diabetes. Overall grandparents who cared for grandchildren only had better mental and physical health, compared with non-caregivers. There was some evidence that the 'sandwich' grandparents who cared for both grandchildren and great-grandparents reported greater life satisfaction, fewer depressive symptoms, and reduced hypertension compared with non-caregivers. The health advantage of caregiving was most pronounced in urban grandfathers whose caregiving conformed to the norm of filial piety and who did so most likely to seek emotional reward instead of an intergenerational time-for-money exchange. In contrast, rural grandmothers were the most vulnerable group and their health disadvantage seemed to arise from caring for great-grandparents. These findings highlight the importance of rural-urban context and gender role in studying the health effects of intergenerational caregiving on Chinese grandparents.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.