Well, my former spouse doesn't have to worry about me any more. Not that she worried about helping my recovery.
http://www.alphagalileo.org/ViewItem.aspx?ItemId=155383&CultureCode=en
Caregiver spouses of stroke survivors are at an increased risk of
mental and physical health issues that may continue for years, according
to research in the American Heart Association journal Stroke.
Swedish researchers evaluated 248 stroke survivors, below age 70
(average mid-sixties), and their spouses at stroke onset and compared
the results with 245 non-stroke controls for seven years after the
stroke event.
At the seven-year follow-up, 16.5 percent of survivors had suffered a
recurrent stroke. Spouses of survivors reported lower scores in several
mental and physical areas — more health issues affecting their lives,
less vitality, and reduced social function — not only during the first
years after stroke but also in the long-term.
Caregivers’ quality of life was most adversely affected by their
spouses’ level of disability, cognitive difficulties and depressive
symptoms.
“It is known that spouses of older stroke patients experience
health-related physical and mental issues, and that the degree of their
problems is associated with the severity of the stroke, but ours is the
first long-term study of seven years follow up to explore this in a
younger group of people,” said Josefine Persson, M.Sc., study author and
a researcher and Ph.D. candidate at the Institute of Neuroscience and
Physiology at Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
“Our results also highlight the impact on the spouses’ mental health
due to demanding changes in the life situations of these families, not
only during the first years after stroke onset but also in the long
term.”
Researchers said juggling work and caregiving is different among
younger and older caregivers. “Caring for a spouse after a stroke can be
demanding and can reduce a husband or wife’s time spent at their
occupation, which also can be a burden for many younger families, and
the underlying problems can continue several years,” Persson said. The
findings also have implications for healthcare policymakers and calls
attention to the need for greater social support for these individuals,
she said.
Researchers surveyed spouses with questionnaires to measure their
health status and calculate their quality of life. Age, children,
education and work status were also included in the review.
They made subjective reports of mental health, vitality, social
functioning and emotional status of spouses by phone questionnaires or
face-to-face evaluation.
The stroke survivors underwent standardized tests to assess the
severity of their stroke, degree of disability and dependence on
caregivers, body pain, daily living activities, depression and anxiety.
http://newsroom.heart.org/news/spouses-of-stroke-survivors-face-lingering-health-issues?preview=62f1dfa19e5007e79073d648a2d1a1fe
I wonder the number of caregivers for their terminally ill spouses have strokes? I would call it a definite risk factor.
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