‘Sandwich carers’ experience decline in mental and physical health

People who care for both their children and older family members – also known as ‘sandwich carers’ – suffer from deterioration in both their mental and physical health over time, finds a new study by UCL researchers.

The research, published in Public Health, analysed data from around 2,000 sandwich carers and 2,000 non-sandwich carers from the UK Household Longitudinal Study between 2009 and 2020.

Sandwich carers juggle the responsibilities of caring for ageing parents or older relatives while raising dependent children (aged under 16). The number of people in this situation is growing due to longer life expectancy and women having children later in life.

In the UK it is estimated that 1.3 million people are sandwich carers.

To reflect this increasing issue, the researchers wanted to address the gap in understanding how becoming a sandwich carer affects mental and physical health over time.

They tracked the health of both groups over nine years using questionnaires, focusing on the period before, during and after becoming a sandwich carer. They then used statistical models to predict health changes and compared the two groups.

The average age of the sandwich carers studied was 36.8 years old. This is because people aged 30-49 are the most likely to be sandwich carers.

The researchers looked at how health changed during the transition into sandwich care and tested if these changes were different between the two groups. They also examined if the amount of caregiving hours and gender affected these health changes.

Mental health was measured using General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) scores, which are a sum of participants’ responses to questions about their mental health, such as whether they had recently had issues concentrating or sleeping or had been feeling under strain.

Meanwhile, a Physical Component Summary (PCS) assessed summary scores of physical health, covering various domains such as general health, mobility, body pain and limitations in everyday tasks due to physical health problems.

The researchers found that parents who became sandwich carers experienced a significant decline in mental health – especially those dedicating over 20 hours per week to caregiving.

This mental health decline persisted for several years.

Additionally, intensive caregivers (over 20 hours per week) saw a deterioration in their physical health during this transition.

Lead author Dr Baowen Xue (UCL Epidemiology & Health Care) said:

As a result of their findings, the researchers are now calling for better support for those affected.

Dr Xue added:

This work was supported by funding from the UK Economic and Social Research Council.