Caregiving-related strain among informal caregivers of older adults with dementia: findings from a nationally representative study.

BACKGROUND AND

OBJECTIVES

Informal caregivers (ICs) of older adults with dementia experience caregiving-related physical, emotional, and financial strain. Little is known about their characteristics and caregiving-related strain differences by dementia status.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was implemented among probable, possible, and non-dementia ICs of older adults from the 2017 National Health and Ageing Trend Study and linked to the National Study of Caregiving data for a nationally representative sample of 2,652. Analysis of variance was used to investigate differences in characteristics and caregiving-related strain by dementia status.

RESULTS

ICs of older adults with possible dementia were more likely to report an income ≤$99,999 (97.2%, p < 0.001) than ICs of older adults with probable dementia (94.8%) or non-dementia (86.9%), with no other group characteristic observed. Caregiving-related strain varied significantly by dementia status (p < 0.001), with ICs of older adults with probable dementia reporting the highest physical, emotional, and financial strain compared to ICs caring for possible or non-dementia older adults.

DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Dementia ICs face disproportionately higher strain and greater financial vulnerability, underscoring the need for targeted interventions such as respite care, financial support, and caregiver training to sustain caregiver well-being as dementia prevalence rises.