Impact of Informal Caregiving on Health Outcomes: A Population-Based Analysis Using BRFSS Data (2015–2020)

Abstract

Background. Informal caregivers provide essential care to family and friends with health conditions or disabilities, yet population-level health impacts remain underexplored.Objective: To examine associations between informal caregiving and physical and mental health outcomes using nationally representative U.S. data.Methods. Data were drawn from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) 2015–2020. Respondents who reported providing regular care or assistance to a family member or friend were classified as caregivers. Poor physical and mental health were defined as ≥14 days of poor health in the past 30 days. Survey-weighted logistic regression models were used to compare outcomes between caregivers and non-caregivers.Results. Among 422,495 respondents, 21.3% were caregivers. After weighting, caregivers had 28% higher odds of poor physical health (OR=1.28; 95% CI: 1.23–1.34; p<0.001) and 70% higher odds of poor mental health (OR=1.70; 95% CI: 1.63–1.77; p<0.001) compared to non-caregivers. Disparities were stable from 2015–2020 and evident across all U.S. regions.Conclusions. Informal caregiving is associated with substantially worse physical and mental health outcomes at the population level. The persistence of these disparities highlights the need for policy and clinical interventions to support caregiver wellbeing. This methodology, leveraging population-based surveillance systems such as BRFSS, can be applied globally to assess caregiver health and inform equitable public health policy.