Caregiving-related strain among informal caregivers of older adults with dementia: findings from a nationally representative study

TL;DR

This study finds that caregivers of older adults with dementia experience higher physical, emotional, and financial strain compared to caregivers of non-dementia patients.

Contribution

The study provides nationally representative evidence of caregiving strain differences based on dementia status.

Findings

Caregivers of older adults with probable dementia report the highest levels of physical, emotional, and financial strain.

Caregivers of older adults with possible dementia are more likely to have lower incomes compared to other groups.

The findings highlight the need for targeted interventions to support dementia caregivers.

Abstract

Informal caregivers (ICs) of older adults with dementia experience caregiving-related physical, emotional, and financial strain. Little is known about their characteristics and caregiving-related strain differences by dementia status.

A cross-sectional study was implemented among probable, possible, and non-dementia ICs of older adults from the 2017 National Health and Ageing Trend Study and linked to the National Study of Caregiving data for a nationally representative sample of 2,652. Analysis of variance was used to investigate differences in characteristics and caregiving-related strain by dementia status.

ICs of older adults with possible dementia were more likely to report an income ≤$99,999 (97.2%, p < 0.001) than ICs of older adults with probable dementia (94.8%) or non-dementia (86.9%), with no other group characteristic observed. Caregiving-related strain varied significantly by dementia status (p < 0.001), with ICs of older adults with probable dementia reporting the highest physical, emotional, and financial strain compared to ICs caring for possible or non-dementia older adults.

Dementia ICs face disproportionately higher strain and greater financial vulnerability, underscoring the need for targeted interventions such as respite care, financial support, and caregiver training to sustain caregiver well-being as dementia prevalence rises.