The burden experienced by informal caregivers - results of the Health in Germany panel 2024

Background

The number of people requiring care in Europe is expected to continue rising due to demographic change. In Germany most care is currently provided by relatives and friends, and the demand for informal care is expected to increase. Therefore, it is important to monitor the burden experienced by this important group as well as their own health situation.

Methods

Data from the 2024 annual survey from the panel Health in Germany of the Robert Koch Institute (n = 27,199) were used to describe the prevalence of informal caregiving and to analyse the health situation (Minimum European health Module, PHQ-9, quality of sleep).

Results

Informal care is provided by 10.4% of all respondents (women 12.7%, men 7.9%) and they are older than non-caregivers (mean age 54.5 vs. 50.1 years). Most informal caregivers can be found in the age group 45-64 years. Caregivers are more likely to come from the lowest (10.8%) and middle (11.1%) educational groups than from the highest (8.1%). More than one third of informal caregivers (34.2%) experience much or very much burden through caregiving, only 6,6 % do not experience any burden. People who provide informal care tend to be in poorer health than those who do not. In age- and sex-adjusted analyses informal caregivers more often describe their health as impaired (38.9% vs. 35.2%), experience more chronic conditions (58.8% vs. 52.9%) and global activity limitations (41.3% vs. 37.7%) exhibit more symptoms of depression (25.7% vs. 20.3%), and report poorer sleep quality (39.2% vs. 32.9%) and lower levels of social support (25.5% vs. 21.1%).

Conclusions

Around one in ten people in Germany provide informal care, and around a third of these people experience a heavy burden due to their caregiving responsibilities. To provide adequate support and prevent these individuals from requiring care themselves in the future, special efforts should be made to alleviate their physical, mental, and social strain by adapting existing approaches.

Key messages

• Informal caregivers in Germany report experiencing high levels of burden and show poorer physical and mental health and lower levels of social support than non-caregivers.

• Informal caregivers need proactive, personalized support to ease physical, mental, and social stress, helping them stay healthy and reduce future care needs.