Demographics of caregivers for patients with dementia

The majority of dementia caregivers live with the patient in the community,¹ with 60% of caregivers being married, living with a partner, or in a long-term relationship.^1,5 Among primary caregivers of people living with dementia, more than half take care of their parents.^6-8 10% of caregivers provide care to a spouse with AD or other dementia,³ and are more likely than non-spousal dementia caregivers to experience increased burden over time.⁹ Often, caregivers are elderly, and their personal health may affect their caregiving ability.¹⁰ Particularly, caring for a spouse with dementia is associated with a 30% increase in depressive symptoms compared with individuals caring for a spouse without dementia.¹¹

References:
1. Alzheimer’s Association. 2023 Alzheimer’s disease facts and figures. Alzheimers Dement 2023; 19 (4): 1598–1695.

2. National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP. Caregiving in the U.S. 2020 report. Available at: https://www.caregiving.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/full-report-caregiving-in-the-united-states-01-21.pdf. Accessed 18 September 2023.

3. National Alliance for Caregiving. Dementia caregiving in the US research report. Available at: https://www.caregiving.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Dementia-Caregiving-in-the-US_February-2017.pdf. Accessed 16 October 2023.

4. Friedman EM, Shih RA, Langa KM, Hurd MD. US Prevalence And Predictors Of Informal Caregiving For Dementia. Health Aff (Millwood) 2015; 34 (10): 1637–1641.

5. Rabarison KM, Bouldin ED, Bish CL, et al. The economic value of informal caregiving for persons with dementia: results from 38 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, 2015 and 2016 BRFSS. Am J Public Health 2018; 108 (10): 1370–1377.

6. Fisher GG, Franks MM, Plassman BL, et al. Caring for individuals with dementia and cognitive impairment, not dementia: findings from the Aging, Demographics, and Memory Study. J Am Geriatr Soc 2011; 59 (3): 488–494.

7. Riffin C, Van Ness PH, Wolff JL, Fried T. Family and other unpaid caregivers and older adults with and without dementia and disability. J Am Geriatr Soc 2017; 65 (8): 1821–1828.

8. National Poll on Healthy Aging. Dementia caregivers: juggling, delaying and looking forward. Available at: https://www.healthyagingpoll.org/sites/default/files/2017-10/NPHA_Caregivers-Report-PROOF_101817_v2.pdf. Accessed 31 August 2023.

9. van den Kieboom R, Snaphaan L, Mark R, Bongers I. The trajectory of caregiver burden and risk factors in dementia progression: a systematic review. J Alzheimers Dis 2020; 77 (3): 1107–1115.

10. Georges J, Jansen S, Jackson J, et al. Alzheimer’s disease in real life–the dementia carer’s survey. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry 2008; 23 (5): 546–551.

11. Harris ML, Titler MG, Hoffman GJ. Associations between Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias and depressive symptoms of partner caregivers. J Appl Gerontol 2021; 40 (7): 772–780.