Does caregiving stress affect cognitive function in older women?

Increasing numbers of women provide care to their ill spouses; however, no studies have examined possible effects of care-giving stress on cognitive function. We administered 6 tests of cognitive function to 13,740 Nurses' Health Study participants aged 70-79 years. We collected information on caregiving and numerous potential confounding variables via biennial mailed questionnaires. After adjustment for potential confounders (age, education, mental health index, vitality index, use of antidepressants, and history of high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease), we found modest but significantly increased risks of low cognitive function on three of the cognitive tests among women who provided care to a disabled or ill spouse compared with women who did not provide any care. For example, on the TICS, a test of general cognition, the risk of a low score was 31% higher in women who provided care compared with women who did not (RR = 1.31, 95% CI 1.10, 1.56). We found a moderately increased risk of poor performance on several cognitive tests among women who provided care to their disabled or ill husbands.