Caregiver Stress Data

In a current article on caregiver stress in Psychiatric Times, some rather startling statistics are given for caregivers of Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and dementia.

• One study which randomly selected caregivers from an Alzheimer directory found that 25% had clinical depression. In another similar study, 36% of caregivers who were not seeking help had clinical depression, while 68% of those seeking help had clinical depression. For comparison, 11-34% of caregivers of stroke victims suffer clinical depression.
  
• Dementia caregivers were found to have a 15% lower level of antibody function than non caregivers, and a 23% higher level of stress hormones. This means that vaccinations, such as flu vaccines, are less effective. It also means that caregivers are more at risk for hypertension, diabetes, and and even cognitive problems.
• Dietary and physical activity interventions have proven helpful in reducing caregiver stress effects and risks.