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Elder Care News
Sustained Levels of Stress Hormone Put Caregivers at
Risk of Health Problems
Case Western Reserve finds culture, religion ward off depression
 Feb. 21, 2007 - Having positive cultural beliefs
about caring for elders and strong religious beliefs can ward off
depression and other mental health difficulties for female caregivers of
spouses and parents with dementia, but sustained elevated levels of the
stress hormone, cortisol, puts these women at risk for physical health
problems, according to a study published in the American Journal of
Geriatric Psychology.
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Elder Care News |
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"Caregiving for someone with dementia is stressful
for almost everyone and can negatively influence mental and physical
health," said T. J. McCallum, assistant professor of psychology at Case
Western Reserve University.
Since stress is common in caregiving, McCallum,
along with Kristen H. Sorocco from the University of Oklahoma's Health
Sciences Center, and Thomas Fritsch, formerly of Case's University
Memory and Aging Center (who is now at the University of Wisconsin at
Milwaukee), set out to study how different cultural and religious
beliefs in different ethnic groups impact the overall health of the
caregivers.
In a pilot study, the researchers studied 54
caregivers (30 African Americans and 24 European Americans) and compared
their mental health and cortisol levels with 64 non caregivers (48
African Americans and 15 European Americans).
The participants were closely matched for their
income levels, college education and length of time caring for their
family members (less than five years). Each caregiving group spent a
similar amount of time bathing, dressing, preparing food and other
activities to care for their loved ones.
African American women in the study had an average
age of 58 and more often cared for parents. European American women
(average age of 67) primarily provided help to their husbands.
To assess mental health outcomes, the study
participants took a number of written tests that gathered information
about their religious beliefs, general stress levels and cultural
beliefs.
The researchers were looking for factors associated
with "stress-related growth," the concept that some people are more
adept at finding meaning and experiencing psychological and emotional
growth resulting from a stressful situation. For example, when a family
member or close friend dies, individuals who are higher in
stress-related growth may be better able to find meaning in death and
view the circumstances in a more positive light.
The physiological reaction to caregiver stress was
measured over a two-day period (five times each day) through saliva
samples that were analyzed for cortisol levels. Cortisol levels are
normally higher in the morning and taper off by evening.
Yet, when the cortisol levels from the caregivers'
saliva were examined, it was found that older European American women
and African American women of all ages had little change in their
cortisol levels over the day, which may be an indication of elevated
stress levels, said McCallum.
This can have risks for the physical health, added
McCallum.
While it was known that within the African American
community there is a cultural norm to care for ailing family members and
that strong religious beliefs support this care, the study affirmed that
finding. The African American caregivers reported higher levels of
stress-related growth and competency in the caregiving role, as well as
stronger positive cultural beliefs about caring for elders and stronger
religious beliefs as compared to the European Americans.
This study is the first of several studies that
McCallum hopes to undertake looking at how cultural and religious
beliefs help caregivers cope with caring for family members with
dementia. His next research project is to study Native Americans in
Oklahoma and then compare those findings with information gathered in
this study.
Editor's Notes:
The research findings were reported recently in
the article, "Mental Health and Diurnal Salivary Cortisol Patterns Among
African American and European American Female Dementia Family
Caregivers."
Funding support for the project came from the
National Institute on Aging through its Alzheimer's Disease Research
Centers to University Memory and Aging Center, a partnership of
University Hospitals Case Medical Center.
Case Western Reserve University is among the
nation's leading research institutions. Founded in 1826 and shaped by
the unique merger of the Case Institute of Technology and Western
Reserve University, Case is distinguished by its strengths in education,
research, service, and experiential learning. Located in Cleveland, Case
offers nationally recognized programs in the Arts and Sciences, Dental
Medicine, Engineering, Law, Management, Medicine, Nursing, and Social
Work.
http://www.case.edu/.
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