A USA Today article recently looked at the toll on Alzheimer’s caregivers citing recent reports from the Alzheimer’s Association.
Among the highlights:
- 15 million unpaid caregivers help someone with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia in the USA äóî 37% more than last year.
- an estimated 5.4 million people are living with Alzheimer’s; every 69 seconds, someone develops it.
- Alzheimer’s is the sixth-leading cause of death in the USA.
- Family members provide 17 billion hours of unpaid care, valued at $202.6 billion.
- Alzheimeräó»s and dementia caregivers had $7.9 billion in additional health care costs in 2010.
æ - More than 60 percent of family caregivers report high levels of stress because of the prolonged duration of caregiving and 33 percent report symptoms of depression.
Clearly the toll is sometimes worse on the caregiver than the patient. That is why resources we have blogged about are so crucial such as Losing Our Parents, The Caregiver Relief Fund and Lotsa Helping Hands. Check them out.