Table 1 Demographic information on family caregivers and non-caregivers in the Swedish National Study on Aging and Care sample
Total n = 3,444 | Family caregivers n = 395 | Non-caregivers n = 3,049 | p value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Demographic information | ||||
Age (years) | ||||
Median, q1-q3 | 72, 66-81 | 66, 60-78 | 72, 66-81 | < 0.001 |
Sex (female) | 1,861/3,444 (54.0%) | 212/395 (53.7%) | 1,649/3,049 (54.1%) | < 0.887 |
Financial status (low) | 535/3,324 (16.1%) | 62/390 (15.9%) | 473/2,934 (16.1%) | < 0.910 |
Education (low) | ||||
Dropped out of school at 14–16 years old | 2,414/2,770 (87.1%) | 271/304 (89.1%) | 2,143/2,466 (86.9%) | < 0.270 |
Married | 1,895/3,390 (55.9%) | 274/391 (70.1%) | 1,621/2,999 (54.0%) | < 0.001 |
Living alone | 1,399/3,394 (41.2%) | 103/393 (26.2%) | 1,296/3,001 (43.2%) | < 0.001 |
Health variables | ||||
MMSE | ||||
Median, q1-q3 | 28, 26-29 | 28, 26-29 | 28, 26-29 | < 0.001 |
IADL (independence) | 2,187/3,357 (65.1%) | 266/389 (68.4%) | 1,921/2,968 (64.7%) | < 0.001 |
Pain (yes) | 1,853/3,303 (56.1%) | 219/386 (56.7%) | 1,634/2,917 (56.0%) | 0.827 |
Pain intensity (VAS 1–10) | ||||
Median, q1-q3 | 4, 3-5 | 4, 2-5 | 4, 3-5 | 0.021 |
VAS levels: | 0.023 | |||
VAS 1.00–3.99 | 671/1,723 (38.9%) | 101/215 (47.0%) | 570/1,508 (37.8%) | |
VAS 4.00–6.99 | 785/1,723 (45.6%) | 83/215 (38.6%) | 702/1,508 (46.6%) | |
VAS 7.00–10.00 | 267/1,723 (15.5%) | 31/215 (14.4%) | 236/1,508 (15.6%) | |
Pain location | ||||
Neck | 433/2,721 (15.9%) | 55/339 (16.2%) | 378/2,382 (15.9%) | 0.874 |
Legs and feet | 890/2,773 (32.1%) | 98/342 (28.7%) | 792/2,431 (32.6%) | 0.155 |
Back | 945/2,773 (34.1%) | 107/344 (31.1%) | 838/2,429 (34.5%) | 0.224 |
Shoulder | 691/2,773 (24.9%) | 80/345 (23.2%) | 611/2,428 (25.2%) | 0.464 |
Joints | 585/2,755 (21.2%) | 59/345 (17.1%) | 526/2,410 (21.8%) | 0.049 |
Chest | 144/2,703 (5.3%) | 16/336 (4.8%) | 128/2,365 (5.4%) | 0.698 |
Attitudes and quality of life | ||||
How soon I recover after illness depends on how I take care of myself (Entirely) | 1,056/3,206 (32.9%) | 120/383 (31.3%) | 936/2,823 (33.2%) | 0.108 |
I expect to have a very healthy life (Entirely) | 475/3,191 (14.9%) | 51/380 (13.4%) | 424/2,811 (15.1%) | 0.456 |
I am worried about my health: | 0.327 | |||
Very worried | 220/3,303 (6.7%) | 24/381 (6.3%) | 191/2,819 (6.8%) | |
Fairly worried | 807/3,303 (24.4%) | 83/381 (21.8%) | 703/2,819 (25.0%) | |
A little worried | 1,630/3,303 (49.3%) | 205/381 (53.8%) | 1,377/2,819 (48.8%) | |
Not worried | 646/3,303 (19.6%) | 69/381 (18.1%) | 548/2,819 (19.4%) | |
Mental HRQoL | ||||
MCS median, q1-q3 | 57.4, 51.9-59.9 | 57.1, 50.0-59.8 | 57.6, 52.0-60.0 | 0.064 |