Survey Reveals Mental and Physical Strain of Sandwich Generation

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When adults hit a certain age, they often find themselves caring for both children and elderly family members at the same time. This group is often referred to as the sandwich generation. Obviously, people dealing with these responsibilities are likely to feel a certain amount of stress, but a new study shows just how much stress this group actually deals with.

Global family care platform Cleo released the results of its 2^nd annual Family Health Index report, which questioned over 12,500 working Americans about their health.¹ According to the report, people in the sandwich generation report higher levels of both burnout and serious mental health strain than expected.

In a press release, Cleo CEO Dr. Madhavi Vemireddy said, “Understanding the complex needs of those caregiving for children, adults, or both simultaneously, is crucial for providing them with necessary coaching and navigational support. That's why we created the Family Health Index–to make the invisible toll of caregiving visible. Our FHI insights show caregiving's serious impact on health and well-being, particularly for complex care journeys. The lack of resources leave many struggling in isolation. This creates a vicious cycle–caregivers ultimately require care for themselves, and the entire family suffers as a result. With the number of older adults requiring care on the rise, the increasing burden on caregivers and the healthcare system is simply unsustainable."

In the same press release, physician health economist Dr. Iver Juster added, “A population health solution personalized to families' needs is critical to address the caregiving crisis. The FHI can help predict, measure, and improve health, well-being, productivity, and economic outcomes. Cleo is able to proactively support caregivers across complex journeys, identify and stop issues before they hit a crisis point, and improve health and workforce-related outcomes."

Cleo released its first report of this nature back in October, 2022.² At the time, it found similar results which showed that family caregivers felt isolated and that it put a strain on their emotional and physical health.

In a press release issued at the tie, the company’s then CEO Sarhjane Sacchetti said, “We need to move from addressing the house on fire problem of caregivers to a proactive model of supporting them before the fire is burning. Supporting the holistic needs of working families is critical to the diversity, retention and overall success of our workforce and businesses - and we have to move beyond narrow views of our working families which we typically see in only our claims data when it's too late to intervene. The FHI is a huge leap forward, giving us and our clients a broader view of what's truly going on in the lives of our working families and thus, allowing us to make targeted interventions and investments to shore them up and improve their health and wellbeing."

In the same press release, Cleo’s chief clinical officer Madhavi Vemireddy added, “With Cleo's global membership, we can now measure the health and wellbeing of families across the diverse set of cultural and ethnic background, family structure, geography, and caregiving situation to identify patterns of needs and provide anticipatory guidance with digital and expert-led interventions."

SOURCES

More than Half of the "Sandwich Generation" are at High Risk of Burnout with 64% of them Screening Positive for Depression and Anxiety - Cleo 2nd Annual Family Health Index. Cleo. April 7, 2025. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/more-than-half-of-the-sandwich-generation-are-at-high-risk-of-burnout-with-64-of-them-screening-positive-for-depression-and-anxiety--cleo-2nd-annual-family-health-index-302420951.html

Cleo Introduces the Family Health Index™, a data-driven multidimensional tool to improve the health and wellbeing of working families. Cleo. October 6, 2022. Accessed April 7, 2025.