‘Living with the walking dead’
Older caregivers may face an increased risk of cognitive problems, latest research has revealed.
The international study found that carers, in particularly an older individual who cares for a spouse with dementia may be at an increased risk of also developing cognitive diseases because of the stress.
The Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, which published the findings last week, indicated that efforts are needed to help caregivers maintain their cognitive and functional health and their ability to care for those who need them.
The research revealed that, compared with non-caregivers, caregivers often have trouble with cognition, which involves attention and memory.
To examine the issue more thoroughly, investigators reviewed the medical literature for studies that looked at the cognitive health of older adults caring for a family member (primarily a spouse) with dementia.
The review revealed that spouses who are caregivers may have a higher risk of cognitive impairment or dementia than spouses who are not caregivers.
Their cognitive decline may be due to psychosocial factors such as depression, loneliness, social isolation, and sleep problems; behavioural factors such as exercise and diet; and physiological factors such as obesity, chronically elevated insulin and inflammation.
South Australia’s Carers’ Link Barossa manager, Gary Vogt, agreed with the study, telling DPS Publishing that caring for a person with a condition such as dementia, in many cases, does put a “great deal of pressure” on the caregiver.
“I think a lot of it has to do with not understanding what is happening and the fact that the person’s personality begins to change,” Mr Vogt said.
“When a person’s memory deteriorates and they don’t recognise who they are, that would cause huge amounts of stress on the carer,” he added.
“It would be hard for a person who has been married for 50 years to make adjustments to speak in the way that they speak to their suffering spouse and relate to them.”
Mr Vogt said he heard some carers describe caring for a person with dementia as “living with the walking dead”.
Are you caring for someone with a cognitive disease? If so, let us know what you think about this latest study.
