Unadjusted and adjusted associations between carers and non-carers health-related variables
| Health variables | Carers | Carers | Unadjusted OR | P values | Adjusted OR | P values |
| n | % | |||||
| Health status | ||||||
| Short Form (SF-1) | ||||||
| Excellent/very good/good | 1644 | 5.7 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Fair/poor | 603 | 9.9 | 1.84 (1.59–2.12) | <0.001 | 1.62 (1.39–1.89) | <0.001 |
| Disability | ||||||
| No/don’t know | 1516 | 5.6 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Yes | 732 | 9 | 1.65 (1.45–1.89) | <0.001 | 1.44 (1.25–1.66) | <0.001 |
| Psychological distress (K10) | ||||||
| No | 1898 | 6.1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Yes | 334 | 9.3 | 1.60 (1.32–1.92) | <0.001 | 1.63 (1.35–1.98) | <0.001 |
| Risk factors | ||||||
| Alcohol-related lifetime risk | ||||||
| Does not drink alcohol | 657 | 8 | 1 | 1 | ||
| No risk | 1078 | 7 | 0.87 (0.75–1.00) | 0.056 | 0.82 (0.71–0.95) | 0.009 |
| Lifetime risk of harm | 499 | 4.3 | 0.52 (0.43–0.63) | <0.001 | 0.64 (0.52–0.78) | <0.001 |
| Alcohol-related injury risk | ||||||
| Does not drink alcohol | 657 | 8 | 1 | 1 | ||
| No risk | 1376 | 6.3 | 0.77 (0.67–0.89) | <0.001 | 0.77 (0.66–0.88) | <0.001 |
| Risk of alcohol related injury | 201 | 4.1 | 0.49 (0.37–0.64) | <0.001 | 0.71 (0.53–0.95) | 0.019 |
| Body mass index | ||||||
| Underweight | 60 | 8.8 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Normal | 650 | 5.5 | 0.60 (0.38–0.96) | 0.033 | 0.60 (0.37–0.96) | 0.035 |
| Overweight | 701 | 6.4 | 0.71 (0.45–1.14) | 0.156 | 0.69 (0.43–1.12) | 0.134 |
| Obese | 682 | 8.5 | 0.97 (0.60–1.54) | 0.886 | 0.87 (0.54–1.41) | 0.582 |
| Vegetables | ||||||
| 1 or less | 445 | 5.3 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2 or more | 1488 | 6.6 | 1.26 (1.07–1.49) | 0.005 | 1.17 (1.00–1.38) | 0.056 |
| 5 or more | 272 | 7.3 | 1.41 (1.13–1.77) | 0.002 | 1.23 (0.99–1.54) | 0.065 |
| None | 24 | 8.3 | 1.62 (0.81–3.26) | 0.176 | 1.68 (0.82–3.42) | 0.156 |
| Don’t know | 19 | 7.6 | 1.47 (0.80–2.70) | 0.209 | 1.26 (0.69–2.29) | 0.456 |
| Fruit | ||||||
| 1 or less | 1158 | 6.3 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2-4 | 965 | 6.4 | 1.02 (0.90–1.15) | 0.742 | 0.95 (0.84–1.08) | 0.425 |
| 5 or more | 119 | 7 | 1.12 (0.81–1.54) | 0.483 | 1.16 (0.85–1.59) | 0.349 |
| None | 5 | 6.5 | 1.03 (0.33–3.26) | 0.954 | 0.92 (0.29–2.86) | 0.88 |
| Don’t know | 4 | |||||
| Physical activity | ||||||
| No activity | 322 | 7.1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Activity but not sufficient | 591 | 7.2 | 1.02 (0.82–1.26) | 0.886 | 1.07 (0.86–1.33) | 0.549 |
| Sufficient activity | 762 | 5.2 | 0.72 (0.58–0.88) | 0.001 | 0.87 (0.70–1.07) | 0.176 |
| High blood pressure | ||||||
| No/don’t know | 1600 | 5.7 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Yes | 647 | 8.8 | 1.59 (1.40–1.79) | <0.001 | 1.22 (1.06–1.40) | <0.001 |
| High cholesterol | ||||||
| No/don’t know | 1702 | 5.8 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Yes | 546 | 9.3 | 1.66 (1.46–1.88) | <0.001 | 1.29 (1.13–1.47) | <0.001 |
| Smoking status | ||||||
| Non/ex | 1798 | 6.1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Current | 450 | 8 | 1.35 (1.14–1.60) | 0.001 | 1.43 (1.20–1.71) | <0.001 |
| Chronic conditions | ||||||
| Arthritis | ||||||
| No/don’t know | 1543 | 5.6 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Yes | 705 | 9.6 | 1.80 (1.59–2.04) | <0.001 | 1.34 (1.16–1.55) | <0.001 |
| Asthma | ||||||
| No/don’t know | 1833 | 6 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Yes | 414 | 8.8 | 1.50 (1.27–1.78) | <0.001 | 1.49 (1.26–1.76) | <0.001 |
| Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | ||||||
| No/don’t know | 2094 | 6.2 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Yes | 154 | 9.9 | 1.65 (1.27–2.14) | <0.001 | 1.40 (1.07–1.83) | 0.014 |
| Cardiovascular disease | ||||||
| No/don’t know | 2002 | 6.2 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Yes | 245 | 9.1 | 1.52 (1.28–1.80) | <0.001 | 1.29 (1.06–1.56) | 0.009 |
| Diabetes | ||||||
| No/don’t know | 1953 | 6.1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Yes | 294 | 9.9 | 1.71 (1.43–2.03) | <0.001 | 1.43 (1.19–1.72) | <0.001 |
| Osteoporosis | ||||||
| No/don’t know | 2100 | 6.3 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Yes | 148 | 9.1 | 1.51 (1.26–1.81) | <0.001 | 1.02 (0.84–1.23) | 0.835 |
| Mental health conditions | ||||||
| No | 1724 | 6 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Yes | 523 | 8.2 | 1.40 (1.21–1.63) | <0.001 | 1.34 (1.15–1.56) | <0.001 |
Adjusted for age and sex.
Data source: South Australian Monitoring and Surveillance System 2010–2015.
K10, Kessler 10.