What does this research mean for the field?

Physical inactivity is associated with significantly higher odds of psychological distress and a greater number of poor mental health days among informal caregivers of older adults compared to those meeting both aerobic and muscle-strengthening recommendations. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.INCREMENTAL. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

What question did this study set out to answer?

To examine the association between physical activity status and self-reported mental health outcomes, including psychological distress and poor mental health days, among informal caregivers of older adults.

August 29, 2026HealthcareOpen Access

Association of Physical Activity with Psychological Distress and Poor Mental Health Days Among Informal Caregivers of Older Adults: Findings from the 2023 BRFSS Caregiver Module

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Authors

DPDamián Pereira-PayoUniversidad de Extremadura RPRaquel Pastor-CisnerosUniversidad de Extremadura MMMaría Mendoza-MuñozUniversidad Loyola Andalucía

Discussion

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Implication

Cross-sectional study finds physical inactivity linked to greater psychological distress in informal caregivers, indicating that exercise habits may signal mental health vulnerability.

Key Points

To examine the association between physical activity status and self-reported mental health outcomes, including psychological distress and poor mental health days, among informal caregivers of older adults.
Analyzed cross-sectional data from the 2023 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) caregiver module for 1,785 informal caregivers caring for older adults with frailty, dementia, or cognitive impairment.
Categorized physical activity into meeting both aerobic and muscle-strengthening guidelines, reporting some physical activity, or being inactive.
Conducted survey-weighted logistic and quasi-Poisson regression analyses adjusted for sociodemographic, health status, and caregiving-related covariates.
Inactive caregivers demonstrated higher odds of psychological distress compared with those meeting both aerobic and muscle-strengthening recommendations (OR = 3.10, 95% CI: 1.58–6.09; p = 0.001).
Physically inactive caregivers experienced a higher rate of poor mental health days relative to those meeting both guidelines (RR = 1.51, 95% CI: 1.08–2.10; p = 0.016).
No statistically significant associations with mental health outcomes were observed for caregivers who only partially met physical activity recommendations relative to the fully active group.

Cite This Study

Pereira-Payo et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a92995f8e5d7d1fc0c1143f https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare14172734

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Implication

Cross-sectional study finds physical inactivity linked to greater psychological distress in informal caregivers, indicating that exercise habits may signal mental health vulnerability.