Effect of reduced formal care availability on formal/informal care patterns and caregiver health: a quasi-experimental study using the Japanese long-term care insurance reform

Table 1 Caregiver characteristics before and after propensity score matching

	Overall sample			Propensity score matched sample^a
	Treatment	Control	Standardized difference	Treatment	Control	Standardized difference
Number of caregivers	2094	10,670		2094	10,667
Age, mean (SD), y	63.0 (12.7)	64.5 (11.6)	−0.12	63.0 (12.7)	63.5 (11.6)	−0.04
Women, %	68.2	74.5	−0.14	68.2	71.4	−0.07
Married, %	20.8	18.1	0.07	20.8	19.0	0.04
Number of household members, %
2	37.6	32.6	0.11	37.6	36.1	0.03
3	25.2	26.9	−0.04	25.2	26.3	−0.03
4	14.9	16.5	−0.04	14.9	15.1	−0.004
5+	22.3	24.1	−0.04	22.3	22.6	−0.01
Monthly household expenditure, mean (SD), thousand JPY^b	2.5	2.5	−0.06	2.5	2.5	−0.02
Three generation household, %	34.1	34.8	0.01	34.1	34.7	0.01

SD Standard deviation. The treatment group comprises SL/SL1 caregivers, and the control group includes CL2–CL5 caregivers
^a3 off-support caregivers in the control group were excluded for the popensity score matched sample. The percentages for the control group in the matched sample were calculated according to weights assigned in the kernel matching
^bMonthly household expenditure was equivalized by dividing total expense excluding out-of-pocket expenditure on long-term care services in the same household by the root squared number of household members

ISSN: 1471-2318