A study from Utah State University took a look at the relationship between Alzheimer’s patients and caregivers — and how that relationship can impact the patient’s mental and physical decline.
Since 1994, researchers from Utah State University have been following more than five thousand people in order to look at risk factors for dementia. All participants were age 65 or older at the start of the study.
Out of the initial five thousand, close to two hundred developed dementia and were being cared for by a spouse or (adult) child. Researchers interviewed the caregivers about their relationship with the patient and how the patient was progressing in the disease. In general, patients being cared for by a spouse had the slowest decline in mental and physical abilities, leading researchers to conclude that the closer the relationship, the slower the patient decline would be.
Why? A person may be more willing to care for a spouse than a parent — maybe something to do with that “in sickness and in health” commitment made at marriage. At least that’s what the researchers believe. Also, caregivers who have a close relationship with patients may be more likely to go the extra mile — spend more time together, make a greater effort to keep the patient’s mind engaged. A hired caregiver may not have the same vested interest that a family member has.
The bottom line: having a close relationship with your caregiver may slow the mental and physical decline that comes with Alzheimer’s disease. So that’s a piece of evidence supporting all the families who choose to take care of Alzheimer’s patients at home, rather than put them into a long term care facility.
The flip side of this is caregiver strain — something not really addressed in the study as far as I can tell. Maybe it’s something to look at for future studies? I’d be curious to see a follow-up study with that as a focus, especially having been a caretaker myself.