Elderly at risk of developing dementia through care of spouse
Contemporary Long-Term Care Weekly, May 20, 2010
A new study suggests that seniors who care for a spouse suffering from dementia have an increased risk of developing the disease. The report, which appears in the May issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, suggests that the often high levels of stress that accompany caring for a spouse with dementia may contribute to the increased risk. Prior research revealed that chronic stress leads to elevated levels of cortisol, which may suppress immunity, according to ScienceNews.
The study consisted of 1,221 Utah couples, none of whom suffered from dementia at the start of the study. Researchers assessed the mental status of all participants with up to four exams over the course of 10 years, beginning in 1995. Two-hundred twenty-nine people ended up caring for a spouse with dementia at some point during the follow-up years, which was typically about 3.3 years. Those individuals caring for a spouse with dementia were six times more likely to develop the disease than those who did not need to care for a spouse suffering from dementia.
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