ArticleArchives of gerontology and geriatrics
Family caregiving and changes in mental health status in Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Article in Archives of gerontology and geriatrics. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 30 citations in OpenAlex.
- The role of household composition in social isolation and anxiety: evidence from adults in South Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2026Article
- The Impact of Coping and Psychological Flexibility on Young Adult Caregivers' Mental Health and Quality of Life.The journal of behavioral health services & research · 2026Article
- Care burden and outcomes in young carers during and after the COVID‑19 pandemic: psychological distress and cognitive-emotional aspects.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Effect of the 2018 Japan floods and COVID-19 pandemic on cognitive decline among atomic bomb survivors in Hiroshima, Japan: a retrospective cohort study.Aging clinical and experimental research · 2025Article
- Longitudinal associations between informal caring, social network, and psychological distress among adolescents and young adults: modelling within-person effects.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Gender differences and mental distress during COVID-19: a cross-sectional study in Japan.BMC psychiatry · 2024Article
- Physical and mental health of informal caregivers before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.BMC public health · 2023Article
- Married women's decision to delay childbearing, and loneliness, severe psychological distress, and suicidal ideation under crisis: online survey data analysis from 2020 to 2021.BMC public health · 2023Article
- Long-term care need, loneliness, and perceived social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence from the German Ageing Survey.Aging clinical and experimental research · 2023Article
- Impact of loneliness on suicidal ideation during the COVID-19 pandemic: findings from a cross-sectional online survey in Japan.BMJ open · 2023Article
- Caregiver, secondary victim: outcome of caring for patients with COVID -19: a qualitative content analysis study.BMC health services research · 2023Article
- A health impact assessment of gender inequities associated with psychological distress during COVID19 in Australia's most locked down state-Victoria.BMC public health · 2023Article
- The Unusual Increase in Suicides Among Women in Japan During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Time-series Analysis Until October 2021.Journal of epidemiology · 2023Article
- Association between increased caregiver burden and severe psychological distress for informal caregivers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan: A cross-sectional study.Archives of gerontology and geriatricsArticle
- Caring in the time of COVID-19, longitudinal trends in well-being and mental health in carers in Ireland: Evidence from the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA).Archives of gerontology and geriatricsArticle
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a widespread significant impact on mental health. However, the effect of providing care to family members (informal caregiving) on changes in mental health status during the pandemic remains unclear.
methodsUsing cross-sectional data from a large internet survey conducted between August and September 2020, we investigated the association of informal caregiving status with the incidence of mental health deterioration (increased loneliness, self-reported deterioration in mental health, and new suicidal ideation) in Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic.
resultsAmong 25,482 participants (mean age 48.8 [standard deviation 17.3]; 50.3% women), 2,500 (9.8%) were providing informal care during the pandemic. After adjusting for potential confounders, informal caregivers were more likely than non-caregivers to experience increased loneliness (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 2.16; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.70-2.76), self-reported deterioration in mental health (aOR 1.54; 95% CI 1.14-2.08), and new incidence of suicidal ideation (aOR 3.65; 95% CI 1.92-6.92). The degree of mental health deterioration depended on the intensity of care. For example, the incidence rates of new suicidal ideation were 15.0%, 5.2%, and 3.6% for individuals who provided high-intensity caregiving, those who provided low-intensity caregiving, and non-caregivers, respectively (p-for-trend<0.001). The stratified analysis by gender showed that informal caregiving was associated with self-reported deterioration in mental health status among women (aOR 2.19; 95% CI 1.49-3.21) but not men (aOR 1.08; 95% CI 0.75-1.56).
conclusionInformal caregivers were more likely to experience mental health deterioration than non-caregivers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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