As the U.S. population ages, unpaid caregiving is becoming more common among adults, but they might be compromising their own health to provide this support, a CDC report shows.
Researchers studied data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, a survey of U.S. adults, older than 18 years. The survey was conducted from 2015 to 2017.
Data from 252,602 completed surveys was examined, and researchers found 20.7 percent of respondents, about 52,288 people, were classified as informal, unpaid caregivers.
About 19percent of the caregivers reported being in "fair or poor health." This varied widely by state, with 11.7 percent reporting fair or poor health in Minnesota and 34.4 percent reporting the same in Puerto Rico.
Researchers also found that women accounted for 58.1 percent of unpaid caregivers.
Among those who were not caregivers, 16.7 percent reported that they expected to become caregivers within the next two years.