It is no secret that the stress of caregiving enfeebles the immune system. The caretakers of Alzheimer patients, for example—the vast majority of whom are women—have significantly diminished immune function and poorer wound healing, suffer more respiratory illness, and experience much higher rates of depression than well-matched non-caregiving peers.[17] Immunity is not the only function impaired by caregiver stress. Mothers looking after emotionally challenged children were found to have abnormal cortisol indicators, poorer metabolic functioning as measured by blood testing, and less healthy
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