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Home › Research › What the research found › Every row

Every row of the evidence table

One row per finding: what was tested, which way the result went, and how the study was built. The answer by area, and where the studies disagree, are on the main page.

Every row

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Area All 382 Care, carers and services 140 Medicines 85 Genes (not modifiable) 35 All modifiable factors together 27 Diet and supplements 23 Exercise and activity 21 Sleep, mood and social life 19 Hearing and vision 8 Alcohol, tobacco and cannabis 6 Infection and vaccination 5 Heart and metabolic health 4 Injury, delirium and falls 4 Environment 3 Cognitive activity 2
Question Both Prevention 190 Treatment 192
Direction Any Benefit 144 Harm 105 No effect 38 Mixed 37 No direction reported 58
Design Any meta-analysis 57 randomised trial 44 phase 3 trial 15 systematic review 9 phase 2 trial 10 cohort study 136 phase 1 trial 2 cross-sectional study 31 case-control study 14 modelling study 20 regulatory decision 7 company announcement 1 coverage determination 1 None 35
Clear all

Showing 4 of 382 rows for Caregiving itself (exposure to the carer). One row per study per exposure: a study that tested two different things appears twice, once for each.

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Research and outcomes, 4 rows. Every row links to its source.
Exposure Question Direction Outcome measured Design People Effect size, as the source reported it Source
Caregiving itself (exposure to the carer) Care, carers and services Treatment No direction reported
why

A pooled prevalence among carers (50.8% lonely, 37.1% socially isolated) with no non-carer comparison, so no direction for the effect of caregiving can be recorded.

 Prevalence of loneliness and social isolation among informal carers meta-analysis 11,134 The pooled prevalence of loneliness among informal carers of individuals with dementia was 50.8% (95% CI: 41.8%-59.8%), while the pooled prevalence of social isolation was 37.1% (95% CI: 26.7%-47.6%) International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry 2024
✓ Peer-reviewed PMID 38752797
Caregiving itself (exposure to the carer) Care, carers and services Treatment No effect
why

No significant difference in 5-year cumulative spending between spouses of people with and without dementia ($3,974, 95% CI -$3,199 to $11,477); year-5 spending was higher (+$2,748), driven by inpatient costs.

 Spouse's cumulative Medicare expenditures in the 5 years after the partner's dementia onset cohort study not stated This difference ($3974, 95% CI = [-$3,199; $11,477]) was not significant. However, there were significant differences in the 5th year's total expenditures (+$2,748 [$321; $5,447]), driven by inpatient expenditures ($1,562 [$22; $3,277]) Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 2024
✓ Peer-reviewed PMID 38975882
Caregiving itself (exposure to the carer) Care, carers and services Treatment Harm
why

Direction is for BEING a carer: carers were worse off than non-carers on every domain, with the largest gaps in depression and stress.

 Carer depression, stress, well-being and physical health meta-analysis not stated Depression g=0.58; stress g=0.55; self-efficacy g=-0.54; well-being g=-0.40; physical health g=0.18 Psychology and Aging 2003
✓ Peer-reviewed PMID 12825775
Caregiving itself (exposure to the carer) Care, carers and services Treatment Harm
why

Only STRAINED carers were at higher risk (RR 1.63, 95% CI 1.00-2.65, with the interval touching 1). Carers who reported no strain showed nothing (RR 1.08), so it is the strain rather than the caregiving that carries the signal.

 4-year mortality in the carer cohort study 819 RR 1.63 (95% CI 1.00-2.65) for strained caregivers vs. non-caregivers JAMA 1999
✓ Peer-reviewed PMID 10605972

How this table was built, and where it is weak →