Caring for the Caregiver: Investigating the Relationship Between Caregiving, Gender, and Diabetes Risk in MIDUS II.

Abstract

This study examines whether caregiving presents an equal risk for diabetes among gender. This study uses data from the second wave of the Midlife in the United States Survey, which included biological markers. We tested the relationship between caregiving and risk of diabetes across various models, controlling for demographics, confounders, and mechanisms that can explain the relationship. Cross-sectional analysis of the Homeostatic Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance (HOMO-IR) determined that (1)men had a higher risk of diabetes than women overall; (2)male caregivers demonstrated a lower risk of diabetes compared to non-caregiving men; (3)female caregivers exhibited a non-significant elevation in diabetes risk compared with non-caregiving females. Findings establish the basis for future studies which identify cardiometabolic disease risks between genders. Our study also provides foundation for future studies to expand and identify differences in psychosocial resources among male and female caregivers which may mitigate cardiometabolic disease risk.