Grandparents who help out occasionally with childcare or provide support for others in their commu-nity tend to live longer than seniors who do not care for other people, according to a study from Berlin, Germany.
"Having no contact with grandchildren at all can negatively impact grandparents' health. " said Sonja Hilbrand, one of the researchers. The findings are drawn from data on more than 500 people over age 70 in the Berlin Aging Study. The study team compared this group with those who provided support for non-fam-ily members, such as neighbors, and seniors who did not provide any care for other people. Overall, after accounting for grandparents' age and general state of health, the risk of dying over a 20-year period was one-third lower for grandparents who cared for their grandchildren, compared with grandparents who pro-vided no childcare.
Caregiving was associated with a longer life even when the care receiver wasn't a relative. Half of the grandparents who cared for grandchildren were still alive ten years after the initial interview. In contrast, about half of the participants who did not help others died within five years after the start of the study.
"Caregiving may give caregivers a purpose of life because they may feel useful for others and socie-ty. Caregiving may be thought also as an activity that keeps caregivers physically and mentally active, " said Professor Bruno Arpino, adding that caregiving is not the only activity that can improve old people's health, and too many caring responsibilities can take away from other beneficial activities like working, be-ing in social clubs, or volunteering. "Children should take into account their parents' needs, willingness, and desires and agree with them on the timing and amount of childcare, "he suggested.
