Pain Among African American Family Caregivers: Association With Health Outcomes

African Americans experience high rates of undermanaged pain as they age. African Americans often become family or informal caregivers, and undermanaged pain may have implications for their overall health and ability to perform caregiving tasks. The purpose of this study was to examine if pain was related to overall health and number of caregiving activities among African American caregivers. We used data from round 7 of the National Study of Caregiving (N= 646 African American caregivers, mean age= 57 years [SD=15]). Pain over the prior month was participant-assessed. Of this sample, 451 (69.7%) were women, 324 (50.1%) had pain, and 309 (47.8%) had multiple comorbidities. The number of caregiving activities ranged from 8 to 14 with mean of 11.6 (SD= 1.4). In a logistic regression model, controlling for income, education, and comorbidities, we found having pain in the last month was associated with lower likelihood of very good or excellent health (Adjusted OR 0.48; 95% CI 0.33 to 0.69) and greater likelihood of having depressive symptoms (Adjusted OR 2.04; 95% CI 1.34 to 3.10). In a linear regression model, however, pain was not significantly related to the number of caregiving activities (R2 = 0.04). Findings suggest that while pain is related to poorer physical and mental health outcomes among African American caregivers, even pain does not deter them from providing care for care recipients. Management of pain among African American caregivers may be beneficial for improving their own overall health and mental health.