Group reports dementia caregivers more likely to have health problems
An Arkansan with Alzheimer’s disease is more likely to be cared for by a family member or friend with their own chronic health problems than the resident of any other state except Pennsylvania, according to figures collected by the Alzheimer’s Association, a national nonprofit group based in Chicago.
These findings came as no surprise to either David M. Cook, director of government affairs for the Arkansas chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, or Rep. Julie Mayberry, R-Hensley, co-chairwoman of the state’s Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia Advisory Council.
“The health statistics in Arkansas are not impressive by anyone’s definition,” Cook said in a telephone interview Tuesday. Many areas of rural Arkansas lack basic health care, and many Arkansans suffer from food insecurity, he said.
Cook’s father has dementia, and his mother takes him an hour’s drive one-way to see the specialists his father needs, Cook said.
The association cited survey findings by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In those surveys, 72.8% of caregivers in Arkansas for Alzheimer’s and other dementia patients reported at least one chronic health condition of their own, the report says. Those include conditions such as heart disease, diabetes or having had a stroke. The report gives the figure for Pennsylvania as 76.6%. No other states hold a percentage of 70% or higher according to the report. Oklahoma holds the highest figure for any state bordering Arkansas with 68.2%. Mississippi ranks lowest of any state bordering Arkansas with 57%.
Pennsylvania has a higher percentage of caregivers of dementia patients who are 65-years-old or older than Arkansas, according to Jacob Simburger, spokesman for the national association. His statement Tuesday cited figures provided by the association’s chapter in Pennsylvania. Also, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia have high concentrations of at-risk minority groups, his statement said.
Caregivers’ own health needs worsen while they concentrate on the needs of a dementia patient, Mayberry said in a telephone interview, also Tuesday. Mayberry’s sister, Cindy Holmes, lives in Florida and suffered shooting pains in her legs, Mayberry said. Her sister knew she had back problems “but even going to see the doctor was difficult,” Mayberry said. “What are you going to do, leave someone with Alzheimer’s unattended in the waiting room while you’re going through tests?”
Mayberry’s mother, Betty Jo Weidner, passed away in January of last year. Only then could her sister, who has a fulltime job and kids of her own, spare more attention for her health needs, Mayberry said. Problems that could have been more easily fixed years ago require more extensive treatment now.
“She wouldn’t do a thing different, though,” Mayberry said. “You do what you have to do to take care of your mom.”
Dementia patients become more demanding over time because of the decline in the ability to fend for themselves, the report found. Patients with health conditions that do not impair their thinking and memory adapt to their limitations, according to the study. The cost, stress and time spent for patients without dementia tend to decline, according to the study, while those for dementia patients increase from year to year.
“The amount of time required for care giving increases as dementia progresses; one study showed that people with dementia required 151 hours of care giving per month at the outset of dementia and this increased to 283 hours per month eight years later,” the report says. “This is an increase from approximately five hours a day to nine hours a day.”
“In the last 12 months of life, people with dementia relied on more hours of family care (64.5 hours per week) than people with cancer (39.3 hours per week),” the report says.
The Arkansas Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia Advisory Council meets Tuesday in Room 151 at the state Capitol. Mayberry said she expects the council will go over the report’s findings then.