Caregivers at risk for depression.
When I had to give up my life to go take care of my elderly parents, both starting to develop dementia, I was so surprised to read that caregivers are often more depressed than those they care for, and that they have a 63 percent higher death rate than their peers. A year later without a day off with my "challenging" elderly father--I was surprised the statistic was that low. Researchers have found that a person who cares for someone with dementia is twice as likely to suffer from depression as someone providing care for a patient without it. And, the more severe the dementia is, the more likely the caregiver is to experience a deeper depression. Since nearly five million people in the United States are afflicted with Alzheimer's disease (just one form of dementia) and 7 out of 10 are being cared for at home by family and friends who provide 75-80 percent of their care--millions of family caregivers are coping with depression or are at great risk of developing it.
Marcell
Jacqueline
J
j.marcell@cox.net
D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D018570:Risk Assessment; D014481:United States