Medpedia

We've mentioned the topic of depression before but with the winter upon us, we need to check in on this serious concern. The Family Caregiver Alliance has reported that up to 40% of all caregivers suffer from depression. That is a staggering statistic! In addition, Maria Shriver (who just lost her dad, Sargent Shriver, to Alzheimer's disease) has a new report called, "A Woman's Nation Takes On Alzheimer's " which mentions research demonstrating that dementia caregivers have increased risk of having high stress hormones, less active immune function and have a greater chance of developing heart disease. Not only that, the report cites that almost half of all dementia caregivers have marital or family relationships that are strained.