Demographics and stress as risk factors associated with mortality in older adults who provide daily support and who receive daily support

Abstract

ABSTRACT Objective: Despite the greater vulnerability of care providers, the literature shows that their mortality rate is considerably lower compared to care recipients. The aim of the present study was to analyze the mortality rates of community-dwelling older adults who provided support in activities of daily living (ADL) (group PC) and older adults who received in activities of daily living (group RC) in a four-year period considering the effects of age, sex and schooling in both groups and stress in in group PC. Methods: 261 older adults PC and 279 older adults RC participated in the study. In 2014, we collected data on demographic characteristics and functioning. In 2018, the participants were contacted a second time and information on deaths was obtained. The mortality rate was calculated for each group. Results: Death cases in four years were considerably higher among the group who were receiving support. The mortality rate was 12.6% in the PC group and 31.2% in the RC group. In deceased PC, 69% presented with high-perceived stress in baseline. About half of the PC were independent, whereas the RC group exhibited some functional dependence in 2014. There was no association between risk factors in the group PC, however the female sex was marginally associated with the risk of mortality among the RC (HR: 1.7 [95% CI: 0.9-3.0]). Conclusion: Some demographic characteristics have been considered risk factors for the mortality of the old age population, however these were not confirmed in this study among the older adults who provided and received care.