Publication type
Journal Article
Authors
Publication date
June 11, 2025
Summary:
Evidence suggests that young carers (age <25 years) can have worse health outcomes than their peers, yet the long-term effects of caregiving remain unclear. While psychosocial factors influence adult carers' health, their role in young carers' health is understudied. The aim of our Review is to synthesise longitudinal evidence examining young carers' physical and mental health and summarise psychosocial determinants. Databases were searched for eligible studies (eg, longitudinal and health-focused studies, those that included a non-carer comparison group, and studies of carers age <25 years) until Dec 31, 2024. After screening 4362 records, 18 studies met the inclusion criteria with 17 retained for narrative synthesis. All studies were conducted in high-income countries. 17 studies contributed 26 associations between caregiving and health, with 20 for mental health and six for physical health. Three studies identified links between psychosocial factors and mental health. Despite some notable inconsistencies, our findings suggest a small-to-moderate risk of poorer mental health among young carers, with stronger effects for subgroups (eg, high-intensity carers). Evidence on physical health was inconclusive. Social connections appear to play a key part in young carers' mental health. Further large-scale longitudinal studies are needed to clarify inconsistent findings. Unequal conditions of care relating to individual and situational factors could affect health in young carers.
Published in
The Lancet Public Health
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(25)00099-4
ISSN
24682667
Subjects
Notes
Open Access
© 2025 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons CC-BY license, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Online Early
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