Publications by authors named "Anne McMunn"
Objectives: Sandwich carers provide care to ageing parents or older relatives while simultaneously raising dependent children. There has been little focus on how mental and physical health trajectories change around becoming a sandwich carer - a gap this study aims to fill.
Study Design: Prospective longitudinal study.
Article Synopsis
- Research investigates the link between socioeconomic position (SEP) and the transition between cognitive states, including neurocognitive impairment and mortality risk.
- The study found significant differences in cognitive state transitions based on SEP, revealing that higher wealth is associated with a greater likelihood of improving cognitive function.
- Additionally, lower education levels correlate with increased mortality risk following dementia onset, suggesting that socioeconomic factors may influence both cognitive health and longevity.
Article Synopsis
- Unpaid carers play a vital role in social care, but their experiences and health outcomes differ significantly by ethnicity, according to a study using data from over 47,000 participants in the UK.
- The research found that a higher percentage of Pakistani (70.1%) and Bangladeshi (74.8%) individuals provide care within their households compared to White individuals (39.7%).
- Additionally, the study revealed that ethnicity influences the relationship between caring and physical health, with minority ethnic carers generally experiencing worse physical health outcomes than their White counterparts, although mental health was similarly affected across groups.
Article Synopsis
- - Research indicates that participating in cultural activities may lead to improved health outcomes, yet there is a lack of large-scale studies exploring the link between cultural engagement and biological health markers.
- - The study aimed to analyze the connection between various patterns of cultural engagement (active and passive) and biological indicators of health, utilizing a large dataset while controlling for multiple factors like age, gender, and socioeconomic status.
- - Results showed that individuals with higher cultural engagement had better biological health markers, such as decreased waist circumference, although many of these benefits were influenced by other related factors, underscoring the importance of considering individual characteristics in these findings.
Article Synopsis
- Atypical work patterns, such as longer hours, weekend shifts, and nonstandard schedules, are rising in the UK, but their impact on workers' sleep is not well understood, despite links to health issues and lower productivity.
- Using data from over 25,000 workers, the study found that working more than 55 hours a week, working weekends, and having nonstandard schedules significantly correlated with both shorter sleep duration and increased sleep disturbances.
- The findings highlight the necessity for employers and policymakers to improve work scheduling and consider appropriate compensation for those in atypical jobs to support their health and productivity.
Article Synopsis
- This study examines how transitioning into caregiving during young adulthood affects health and life satisfaction in the UK and Germany, focusing on ages 17-29.
- Data from the UK Household Longitudinal Study and German Socioeconomic Panel (2009-2018) were analyzed to compare young adult carers (YACs) with noncarers, finding significant health declines in UK YACs but not in their German counterparts.
- The findings suggest that welfare support systems may influence the outcomes of young carers, emphasizing the need for targeted assistance for those balancing caregiving with life transitions.
Article Synopsis
- Adolescents are experiencing more depressive symptoms than before, with higher body mass index (BMI) being a significant risk factor linked to increased body dissatisfaction.
- The study utilized data from a long-term UK cohort, examining relationships between BMI at 7 years, body dissatisfaction at 11 years, and depressive symptoms at 14 years while considering various confounding factors.
- Findings showed that higher BMI at age 7 was strongly associated with increased depressive symptoms at age 14 and body dissatisfaction at age 11, suggesting body dissatisfaction plays a mediating role in this relationship.
Most research on the effects of caring has focused on older spouses or working-age carers providing care for older people, but providing care in early adulthood may have longer-term consequences, given the importance of this life stage for educational and employment transitions. This study aims to investigate the impact of informal care in early adulthood on educational attainment and employment in the UK and to test whether these associations differ by gender or socio-economic circumstances. Data are from young adults (age 16-29 at first interview, n = 27,209) in the UK Household Longitudinal Study wave 1 (2009/11) to wave 10 (2018/2020).
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- During COVID-19, informal caregivers faced increased responsibilities while support systems became less accessible, impacting their psychosocial well-being.
- A study analyzed changes in psychological well-being and loneliness among caregivers and non-caregivers through multiple stages of the pandemic, using data from nearly 15,000 participants in Norway.
- Results indicated that caregivers had consistently lower well-being compared to non-caregivers, with significant increases in anxiety and worry during peak pandemic periods, particularly affecting those providing more intensive care or facing health challenges.
Article Synopsis
- * Data from the UK Household Longitudinal Study was used, analyzing health changes in adults aged 16 and older before and after they became caregivers, using specific health assessments (GHQ-12 and SF-12).
- * Findings show that psychological distress increases for all ages upon becoming a caregiver, especially for younger adults, those providing intensive care (20+ hours/week), and those caring for someone living in the same household; however, physical health functioning remained stable.
Article Synopsis
- Bourdieu's theory suggests that cultural interaction holds symbolic power, influencing social stratification and has been adapted by many researchers to create new models of cultural engagement.
- A Latent Class Analysis was applied to a large UK dataset, resulting in six classes of cultural engagement correlated with youth, capital, and social advantage.
- The study revealed qualitative differences within these classes, showing that economic capital was linked to sports engagement, while social advantage connected to broader cultural activities, emphasizing the significance of cultural engagement in shaping status and identity.
Article Synopsis
- COVID-19's impact on the mental health of young adults has been under-researched, especially regarding changes during different waves of the pandemic.
- A study using data from the UK Household Longitudinal Study found that employment status and activity considerably influenced mental distress levels among young adults during the second wave of COVID-19, while the first wave showed no significant associations.
- The conclusion emphasizes that stable, full-time employment is a protective factor against mental distress, highlighting ongoing mental health inequalities faced by this age group.
Article Synopsis
- Socioeconomic position is linked to inflammation, which may play a role in the connection between socioeconomic inequalities and neurocognitive disorders in older adults. The study used data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) to explore this relationship.
- Researchers found that higher education, occupation, and wealth are associated with a lower risk of cognitive impairment and dementia over time, highlighting the importance of socioeconomic factors on brain health.
- Inflammatory markers, particularly white blood cells, C-Reactive Protein (CRP), and plasma fibrinogen, were identified as mediators in the relationship between socioeconomic position and cognitive impairment, emphasizing the complex interplay between lifestyle factors, inflammation, and neuroc
Article Synopsis
- Young adult caregivers (ages 16-29) are often overlooked in research, despite facing potential social relationship issues compared to noncaregivers.
- This study utilized data from the UK Household Longitudinal Study to analyze the impact of becoming a caregiver on the number of close friends and social activities over different time periods.
- Findings revealed that young adult caregivers, especially those providing significant care (5+ hours/week), have fewer friends shortly after caregiving begins, but this effect diminishes over time, and there were no significant differences based on gender, age, income, or caregiving hours.
Article Synopsis
- * A study involving 9,351 UK participants explored how gender affected mental health, finding that loneliness was a key factor linking gender to mental health issues.
- * Results indicated that loneliness explained a large portion of the mental health decline in women during the pandemic, highlighting its importance in understanding mental health disparities.
Article Synopsis
- Intrinsic capacity (IC) is a key concept in healthy aging, measured in this study through 14 indicators like mobility and cognitive functions using data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA).
- The study found that higher baseline IC scores among 4,545 participants (average age 70.8) correlated with a lower risk of difficulties in daily living activities, hospital admissions, and mortality over a follow-up period of 14 years.
- This suggests that IC scores could be a valuable way to predict adverse health outcomes in older adults, potentially offering more insight than traditional sociodemographic and health-related factors.
Article Synopsis
- The study investigates the rise in self-reported mental health issues in England and whether decreased stigma is influencing this trend.
- Researchers analyzed data from two surveys over several years, comparing self-reported mental disorders and stigma-related attitudes across different English regions.
- Findings suggest that while self-reported mental health problems increased significantly, improvements in stigma-related attitudes did not correlate with these changes, indicating that stigma may not be the main factor driving the rise in mental health problems.
Young Adult Carers in the UK-New Evidence from the UK Household Longitudinal Study.
Int J Environ Res Public Health
October 2022
Article Synopsis
- A study using data from the UK Household Longitudinal Study (2009-2021) found that about 9% of young adults aged 16-29 provided care, with this percentage stable during the 2010s.
- It revealed that young adult carers often come from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds, are more likely to belong to ethnic minorities, and generally report poorer health than non-carers, especially if they have been caregivers for multiple years.
- The research highlighted demographic differences in caregiving, showing that women and individuals aged 25-29 tend to provide longer hours and care for more people compared to men and younger caregivers.
The mental and physical health of young carers: a systematic review.
Lancet Public Health
September 2022
Article Synopsis
- * A systematic review analyzed 1162 studies, identifying 14 relevant studies that focused on the health impacts on young carers, mostly from the UK and a few other countries.
- * While most studies indicated poorer health in young carers, the overall evidence is weak and there's a call for more robust, longitudinal research that specifically examines both mental and physical health outcomes.
Article Synopsis
- Explanations for health inequalities involve material, behavioral, and psychosocial factors, with a particular focus on how social relationships and support networks influence health outcomes negatively when lacking.
- This systematic review aims to investigate the role of social relationships in health inequalities by analyzing relevant studies through comprehensive database searches and data assessments, adhering to established reporting guidelines.
- The review's findings are expected to highlight gaps in current knowledge regarding the connection between social relationships and health inequalities, potentially guiding future research and interventions.
Article Synopsis
- Work and family roles can be conflicting, especially during young adulthood, leading to both stress and potential mental health benefits.
- The study examines the employment, parenthood, and partnership paths of men and women between ages 25 and 40, using data from SHARE and ELSA.
- Findings suggest that those who combined work and family roles are less likely to experience depression later in life, with variations based on gender and regional employment contexts.
Article Synopsis
- The study analyzes work-family life courses from ages 16 to 42 in three British birth cohorts (1946, 1958, 1970) using multi-channel sequence analysis and logistic regression to assess psychological distress at ages 42/43 in men and women.
- It hypothesizes that weaker employment ties and early transitions to partnerships and parenthood increase psychological distress risks, with expectations of this effect intensifying across the cohorts.
- Findings indicate men and women with weaker long-term job connections experience more psychological distress, largely influenced by early life factors, with teen mothers showing increased distress in later cohorts that remains unexplained.
Article Synopsis
- Birth order influences the roles individuals play in their families, which can affect their sexual behaviors and health outcomes.
- In a study analyzing data from the National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles, it was found that only-child women tend to start having sex later, while middle-child boys often start earlier than first-borns.
- Early sexual initiation is linked to riskier sexual behaviors and health issues, with the impact being somewhat moderated by siblings serving as confidants about sexuality.