Sex disparities in access to caregiving in Parkinson disease

Objective To compare access to caregiving between men and women with Parkinson disease (PD). Methods This was a cross-sectional and longitudinal study among participants with PD enrolled in the National Parkinson Foundation Parkinson9s Outcomes Project from 2009 to 2014 at 21 international sites. The primary outcome measures were presence of a caregiver at the baseline visit, caregiver burden as measured by the Multidimensional Caregiver Strain Index (MCSI) at baseline, and time to first paid caregiver. Results A total of 7,209 participants (63% men, 37% women) with PD were evaluated. Men had a mean age of 66.0 (SD 9.8) years, and women had a mean age of 66.9 (SD 9.7) years. More men than women had a caregiver (88.4% vs 79.4%, p p Conclusions Informal caregiving resources are lower for women than men with PD, despite the finding that their caregivers report less strain than those of men. In addition, women are more likely to use formal, paid caregivers. Strategies to improve access to caregiving, particularly for women, are needed.