Caregivers for dementia patients often suffer poor health too

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. 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.

“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.