Mcmunn, Anne

Background: Approximately seven million people in the UK are engaged in informal caregiving. Informal caregivers are at risk of poorer mental and physical health. However, less is known about how the relationship between the informal caregiving and psychological distress changes over time. The aim of this study was to investigate longitudinal associations between the informal caregiving and psychological distress amongst UK men and women aged 16+.

OBJECTIVES: The aim was to investigate associations between caregiving and adiposity using a representative UK longitudinal study. We also investigated whether associations differed by age, gender and caregiving characteristics. METHODS: Data on 9,421 participants aged 16+ from three waves (2009-2012) of the UK Household Longitudinal Study were used. Body mass index, waist circumference and percentage body fat were assessed.

Objectives: Informal caregiving is associated with poorer mental and physical health. Little research has yet focused on objectively measured health risk factors, such as metabolic markers. The aim of this study was to investigate whether informal caregiving was associated with markers of metabolism in a large, representative UK longitudinal study.

This paper examines whether participation in social activities is associated with higher levels of wellbeing among post-retirement age people in England, and, if so, whether these relationships are explained by the reciprocal nature of these activities. Cross-sectional analysis of relationships between social activities (including paid work, caring and volunteering) and wellbeing (quality of life, life satisfaction and depression) was conducted among participants of one wave of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) who were of state pension age or older.