From Kevin:

This shouldn't come as a big surprise, but a recently released study suggests that caregivers are more likely to report health problems than non-caregivers. The underlying message is that, as a caregiver, you need to pay special attention to your own health needs. According to a press release, "Employees in the U.S. who are caring for an older relative are more likely to report health problems like depression, diabetes, hypertension or heart disease, costing employers an estimated average additional health care cost of 8% per year, or $13.4 billion annually..."

The report was produced by the MetLife Mature Market Institute® with the National Alliance for Caregiving in conjunction with the University of Pittsburgh Institute of Aging.

The report found that "younger caregivers (ages 18 to 39) cost their employers 11% more for health care than non-caregivers, while male caregivers cost an additional 18%. It also found that eldercare may be closely associated with high-risk behaviors like smoking and alcohol consumption."

The report was based on an analysis of 17,000 employees of an unnamed multinational U.S. corporation. These employees completed a health risk assessment questionnaire. Twelve percent of them were caregivers for an elder.

This research reinforces what many people already know: Caregiving can be both stressful and physically demanding. It is also difficult to go to work *and* be a caregiver at the same time. Work performance may suffer because of the attention that needs to be paid to caregiving responsibilities, even when the caregiver is not physically present with a care recipient such as an elder family member.

Additional study findings, according to the press release:
• Among particular employee segments, some are particularly at risk. Younger caregivers (18 to 39 years old) demonstrated significantly higher rates of cholesterol, hypertension, COPD, depression, kidney disease, and heart disease in comparison to non-caregivers of the same age.
• Employed caregivers find it more difficult than non-caregivers to take care of their own health or participate in preventive health screenings. For example, women caregivers were less likely to report annual mammograms than non-caregivers.
• Employees with eldercare responsibilities were more likely to report missed days of work. Overall, 10% of caregivers missed at least one day of work over the past two weeks because of health issues compared to 9% of non-caregivers. Differences were mostly driven by the much higher absenteeism among younger caregiving employees, age 18 to 39.

The report suggested some remedies as well. "To meet the health care needs of caregivers while reducing the associated costs, employers should consider integrating their wellness and eldercare programs. In addition to practices like flexible hours, paid time off (PTO) and telecommuting, the report contains suggestions to connect their employees who are caregivers with wellness programs that will reduce their stress, positively impact their health and provide needed support. These include stress-reduction seminars expanded to include on-site yoga and exercise classes, relaxation techniques and massage therapy, decision-support systems providing information about available services, financial incentives to encourage participation in preventive benefits offered by employers (like premium reductions for those who obtain annual physicals, mammograms, Pap tests, smoking cessation classes, and exercise), expanded on-site medical screenings, and free legal and financial advice, especially pertaining to Medicare, Medicaid, and insurance."

While the respondents were all from the same company, the findings would probably be similar at other work places. Employers need to recognize that many of their employees may be doing caregiving at home for an older person, and it would be mutually beneficial for employers to support such employees in various ways that enhance their physical and mental health status, just like many companies do in regard to child care.

As more and more Baby Boomers age into the older adult category, the situation will need greater attention because employees will be increasingly taking on caregiving responsibilities for elder relatives. The time to plan is now.