School of Social Work
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Browsing School of Social Work by Subject "Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging"
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Item Examination of the healthy caregiver effect among older adults: findings from the Canadian longitudinal study on aging(2023) Li, Lun; Wister, Andrew; Mitchell, BarbaraIntroduction: The Healthy Caregiver Hypothesis (HCH) suggests that caregiving is associated with beneficial health impacts for family caregivers. However, mixed results have been reported, particularly when different levels of caregiving intensity were examined. This study analyzes the relationship between caregiving intensity and three health indicators (functional health, chronic illness, and self-rated general health) among Canadian older adults over 3 years. Methods: We drew upon a subsample of 11,344 participants aged 65 years and older from the Baseline and Follow-up 1 data of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging and used linear mixed models to test the hypothesis based on different levels of caregiving intensity. Results: Older adults who provided low-intensity care recently or continuously reported better functional health and self-rated health than noncaregivers. In contrast, older adults with low-intensity caregiving responsibility reported more chronic conditions over time compared to noncaregivers, but this association was not found for high-intensity caregivers. Discussion/Conclusion: This study elucidates the HCH by incorporating caregiving intensity to understand patterns of better functional health and perceived health but more chronic conditions. The findings yielded from different health indicators suggest the impact of caregiving on health may be domain specific.Item Psychological distress in older adults linked to immigrant status, dietary intake, and physical health conditions in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA)(2020) Davison, Karen M.; Lung, Yu; Lin, Shen (Lamson); Tong, Hongmei; Kobayashi, Karen M.; Fuller‑Thomson, EsmeBackground Psychological distress increases mortality risk; there is little knowledge about its prevelance and contributory factors in older populations. Methods Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging baseline data (2010–2015) were analyzed to examine the relationship between Kessler's Psychological Distress Scale-K10 and immigrant status (recent/mid-term,<20 years; long-term, ≥20 years; Canadian-born). Covariates included socioeconomic and health-related variables. Stratified by sex, two series of multinomial logistic regression were used to calculate the likelihood of having mild distress (20 < K10 score ≤24) and moderate/severe distress (K10 score >24). Results Respondents (n = 25,700) were mainly Canadian-born (82.8%), 45–65 years (59.3%), earning cut-off; OR=1.32, 99% CI 1.02–1.70), and higher nutritional risk (ORs = 2.16–3.31, p's <0.001). For men, psychological distress was associated with under-nutrition (grip strength56 years, ORs=0.19–0.79, p's<0.01), lower income (≤C$149,000, ORs = 1.68–7.79, p's<0.01), multi-morbidities (ORs = 1.67–4.70, p's<0.01), chronic pain (ORs = 1.67–3.09, p's<0.001) and higher intake of chocolate (≥ 0.6 bar/week, ORs=1.61–2.23, p's<0.001). Limitations Cross-sectional design prohibits causal inferences. Conclusions Nutritional factors, immigration status, social, and health-related problems are strongly associated with psychological distress among midlife and older adults.Item Refugee status is associated with double the odds of psychological distress in mid-to-late life: findings from the Canadian longitudinal study on aging(2020) Tong, Hongmei; Lung, Yu; Lin, Shen (Lamson); Kobayashi, Karen M.; Davison, Karen M.; Agbeyaka, Senyo; Fuller‑Thomson, EsmePsychological distress is associated with a range of negative outcomes including lower quality of life and an increased risk of premature all-cause mortality. The prevalence of, and factors associated with, psychological distress among middle-aged and older Canadians are understudied. Using the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) baseline data, this study examined factors associated with psychological distress among adults between 45 and 85 years, including refugee status and a wide range of sociodemographic, health-related and social support characteristics. Psychological distress was measured by Kessler’s Psychological Distress Scale-K10 scores. Bivariate and multivariable binary logistic regression analyses were conducted. The prevalence of psychological distress was significantly higher among the 244 refugees (23.8%), compared to 23,149 Canadian-born Canadians (12.8%) and 4,765 non-refugee immigrants (12.6%), despite the fact that the average time the refugees had lived in Canada was more than four decades. The results of the binary logistic regression analysis indicated refugees had twice the age-sex adjusted odds of psychological distress (OR = 2.31, 95% CI: 1.74, 3.07). Even after further adjustment for 16 potential risk factors, a significant relationship remained between refugee status and psychological distress (OR = 1.56; 95% CI = 1.12, 2.17). Other significant factors associated with psychological distress included younger age, female gender, visible minority status, lower household income, not having an undergraduate degree, multimorbidities, chronic pain, and lack of social support. Policies and interventions addressing psychological distress among Canadians in mid- to later life should target refugees and other vulnerable groups.