• M Eugenia Estrada Fernández, Ana I Gil Lacruz, Marta Gil Lacruz, and Antonio Viñas López.
• Departamento de Psicología, Escuela Universitaria de Enfermería, Universidad de Zaragoza, Huesca, España; Unidad de Psiquiatría, Hospital Sagrado Corazón de Jesús, Huesca, España. Electronic address: waveuge@hotmail.com.
• Aten Primaria. 2018 Jan 1; 50 (1): 233423-34.

ObjetivesThe purpose of this work is to analyse the effects on informal caregiver's health and lifestyle when living with a dependent person at home. A comparison will be made between this situation and other situations involving commitment of time and energy, taking into account gender and age differences in each stage of the life cycle.DesignCross-sectional study analysing secondary data.SettingThe method used for collecting information is the computer assisted personal interview carried out in selected homes by the Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality.ParticipantsThe study included 19,351 participants aged over 25 years who completed the 2011-2012 Spanish National Health Survey.Main MeasurementsThis research is based on demographic information obtained from a Spanish National Health Survey (2011/12). Using an empirical framework, the Logit model was select and the data reported as odds ratio. The estimations were repeated independently by sub-groups of age and gender.ResultsThe study showed that the health of people who share their lives with a dependent person is worse than those who do not have any dependent person at home (they are 5 times at higher risk of developing health problems). The study found that being a woman, advance age, low educational level and does not work, also has an influence. Being a caregiver reduces the likelihood of maintaining a healthy lifestyle through physical exercise, relaxation, or eating a balanced diet.ConclusionsLiving with a dependent person reduces the likelihood of maintaining healthy lifestyles and worsens the state of health of family members. Significant differences in gender and age were found.Copyright © 2017 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

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