ArticleAge and ageing2025
Impact of spousal caregiving on frailty index: longitudinal evidence from China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study.
Article in Age and ageing, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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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.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed.
- Health and health service use of Australian female live-in caregivers at multiple caregiver trajectory timepoints: a population-based dataset with time-matched controls.Age and ageing · 2026Article
- Changes in Frailty, Depression, and Loneliness among Stroke Survivors and Their Spouses.Cerebrovascular diseases (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- The Impact of Dementia Caregiving on the Health of the Spousal Caregiver.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2026Review
- Neighborhood social cohesion and psychological distress among caregiving spouses with or without a nearby social support network.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Gender Differences in Sleep Deprivation and Quality Among Spousal Caregivers of Disabled Partners: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study.Inquiry : a journal of medical care organization, provision and financingArticle
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
objectiveResearch on the impact of spousal caregiving on caregivers' frailty remains limited. This study aimed to examine this association between spousal caregiving and frailty, explore how this association varies with care intensity, and investigate potential gender differences.
methodsThis study utilized data from four waves of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, including 3,987 participants aged 50 and above. Frailty was assessed using a composite mean score based on 41 indicators aligned with Rockwood's frailty criteria. These indicators included self-reported health, medically diagnosed conditions, medical symptoms, functional activities assessment, activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living. Samples were stratified by gender, and a growth curve model with random intercepts was employed to examine the associations between spousal caregiving status, care intensity and frailty trajectories over time.
resultsAmong females, compared to non-caregivers, spousal caregiving was significantly associated with the increased frailty index when adjusted by all covariates, and frailty accelerated at a higher rate for caregivers. Providing care at all three intensity levels was associated with higher frailty, although depression attenuated these associations. Additionally, caregiving at lower intensity showed an accelerating rate of frailty progression over time. Among males, only providing higher-care intensity was associated with higher frailty.
conclusionsThis study highlights the importance of care intensity as well as the gendered effects of spousal caregiving on frailty-caregiving exacerbates frailty, particularly among females and among higher-intensity male caregivers. Our findings suggest the need for targeted supportive measures to alleviate psychological stress.
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