A national survey found that 62.8% of family carers say their work has affected their physical or mental health. Fatigue and stress were the most commonly reported problems, despite high overall satisfaction with the role.
Fatigue affected 69.8% of carers who reported physical symptoms, while stress was cited by 66.1% of those reporting mental-health effects. The figures come from the II Estudio del Observatorio Cinfa de los Cuidados, titled ‘Radiografía de los cuidados familiares en la sociedad española’ and based on a representative sample of more than 3,200 carers across Spain. The study was promoted by Laboratorios Cinfa and endorsed by the Sociedad Española de Geriatría y Gerontología (SEGG).
Overall, 62.8% said family care had affected their physical or mental health to some degree. EFE Comunica reported the findings, which reflect carers’ own assessments of the impact.
Among carers reporting mental-health effects, 51.7% said they experienced anxiety. Irritability or mood changes affected 39.3%, while 35.2% reported depression or sadness. Concentration problems were reported by 24.7%. These percentages refer to respondents reporting mental-health repercussions, rather than to the full national sample.
Physical strain was also common. Sleep problems affected 50.1% of carers reporting physical symptoms, and 36.7% said they had muscle or joint pain. Another 27.9% said they had neglected their personal appearance because of the time and effort spent caring for someone else. These physical-symptom percentages likewise describe the subgroup who reported physical effects.
These are carers’ reported effects, not a count of clinical diagnoses. They measure a different issue from the mortality estimates in a separate Spanish heat-deaths report.
More than half of respondents said caregiving had changed their social lives; the national study put the share at 53.8%. Among this group, 88.9% had less free time for leisure or personal interests, and 30.8% reported isolation or lost contact with relatives and friends. Some also described a loss of independence or identity (20.9%), feeling misunderstood (17.6%), or feeling helpless and lonely (17.2%).
Carers reported different ways of making time for themselves. Watching television or films, reading, using social media or browsing the internet was cited by 35%; 31.1% spent time with friends and family. Exercise was reported by 30.9%, while 28.3% tried to set aside time for their own care and 28.1% sought to arrange outings away from home.
Seeking professional help was not universal. Of those who felt their health had suffered, 57.1% either considered consulting a health professional or did so. A total of 27.7% had made a consultation, while 42.9% had not considered seeking care. Among those who consulted, 68.6% went to a GP or specialist and 56.6% saw a psychologist. Nurses saw 10.5%, while 8.6% went to a pharmacy.
The survey found a striking contrast: 88% said they were satisfied with their caregiving role. This included 47.5% who described themselves as very satisfied and 40.5% who reported a lower degree of satisfaction; 12% said they were not satisfied. In a separate regional release based on the same study, 86.1% of family carers in Castilla-La Mancha said they were satisfied with their caregiving experience. In the first edition of the study, 58.2% described care as an expression of affection and 53.9% as a personal choice.
A separate regional breakdown found that 58.6% of family carers in Castilla-La Mancha believed care had affected their physical or mental health. Among regional carers reporting mental-health effects, 65.4% cited stress and 46.7% anxiety; 67.6% reported fatigue and 39.4% muscle or joint pain.
Alicia López de Ocáriz, medical director of Grupo Cinfa and president of the Observatorio, said the research set out to establish how caregiving affected daily life and health. She also argued that talking about the experience can help make an frequently-invisible reality more visible. Francisco José Tarazona Santabalbina, president of the SEGG, warned that people caring for older relatives may themselves come to need care, and called for community resources that reflect the responsibilities they carry.
The Observatorio Cinfa de los Cuidados is an initiative established by Laboratorios Cinfa to increase knowledge about family caregiving in Spain. Its research covers people caring for family members with and without dependency. The Observatorio also runs projects through Cuidados.cinfa.com. Its work includes grants to social organisations launched in 2025 and the solidarity documentary contest ‘Cuidados: la otra mirada’ and documentary short film ‘Cuidar’, promoted in 2026.
