A recent study revealed that dementia caregivers are at an increased risk of their own brain ageing due to several lifestyle factors.
According to the study, Risk Factors For Cognitive Decline Among Dementia Caregivers, up to 1 in 4 (24%) people have two or more risk factors.
For the study, researchers assessed data on caregivers’ health collected by federal public health agencies in 2021 and 2022 from 47 states.
Dementia caregivers are at increased risk for brain ageing
Dementia caregivers are likely to experience the following:
- High blood pressure (27% higher chances)
- Poor sleep (21% higher chances)
- Diabetes (12% higher chances)
- Obesity (8% higher chances)
However, physical activity was one of those risk factors in which caregivers were 9% less likely to be physically inactive as compared to the rest of people.
Director of the Center for Healthy Aging and Innovation at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health Joseph Gaugler stated, “By identifying elevated risk factors for dementia among certain dementia caregiving populations compared with the overall population, public health policymakers can prioritize and tailor resources and interventions accordingly.”
In addition, younger caregivers are more likely to:
Have multiple risk factors (22% versus 16%)than others in their age group.
Younger dementia caregivers were 86% more likely to smoke; and 46% more likely to experience increased blood pressure.
