Page 33 - BusinessWest March 4, 2024

Easing the Load
Alzheimer’s Assoc. Offers Tips for Supporting Dementia Caregivers
“Caring for a person with Alzheimer’s takes longer, lasts longer, is more personal and intrusive than most other diseases, and takes a heavy toll on the health of the caregivers themselves.”
Care
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Currently, there are more than 11 million family members and friends across the country pro- viding care to more than 6 million Americans
living with Alzheimer’s disease.
Caring for those living with Alzheimer’s or other
dementia poses special challenges for family caregiv- ers. As dementia symptoms worsen, caregivers can experience increased emotional stress, depression, anxiety, and new or worsened health problems. Care- givers often experience depleted finances due to dis- ruptions in employment and paying for healthcare or other services.
“Caring for a person with Alzheimer’s takes longer, lasts longer, is more personal and intrusive than most other diseases, and takes a heavy toll on the health of the caregivers themselves,” said Monica Moreno, senior director of Care and Support for the Alzheimer’s Assoc. “During the course of the disease, caregiving tasks escalate and become more intensive. Alzheimer’s and dementia caregivers are often man- aging multiple conditions, including memory loss, co- morbidities, loss of mobility, reduced communication skills, and behavioral and personality changes.” Across the country, 59% of dementia caregivers report high to very high emotional stress due to
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MONTHLY FEATURE
MARCH 4, 2024 33
Alzheimer’s Caregiving by the Numbers
• More than 11 million people in the U.S. are providing unpaid care to a person living with Alzheimer’s or dementia.
• Eighty-three percent of the help provided to older adults in the U.S. comes from family members, friends, or other unpaid caregivers.
• Nearly half of all caregivers (48%) who provide help to older adults do so for someone with Alzheimer’s or another dementia.
• Among primary caregivers of people with dementia, more than half take care of their parents.
• Approximately two-thirds of caregivers are women, and one-third of dementia caregivers are daughters.
• Approximately one-quarter of dementia caregivers are ‘sandwich generation’ caregivers, meaning they care not only for an aging parent, but also for children under age 18.
• In 2022, the lifetime cost of care for a person living with dementia was $377,621.
• Seventy percent of the lifetime cost of care is borne by family caregivers in the forms of unpaid caregiving and out-of-pocket expenses.
• Forty-one percent of caregivers have a household income of $50,000 or less.
Source: Alzheimer’s Assoc.