Those who nurse a spouse with dementia are six times more likely to develop the devastating condition themselves, research shows.
It is thought the physical and mental stress of caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s and other forms of the condition can do lasting damage to the brain’s memory centre. Although all forms of caring are hard, watching the mental decline of dementia is particularly tough, the researchers noted, with men feeling the effects particularly keenly.
For 12 years, these researchers tracked the health of more than 1,200 couples who had been married for an average of 49 years. None had dementia at the start of the study, but by the end 225 coueaseples were affected. In 125 of these, the husband was diagnosed and in 70 it was the wife. But in 30 couples, both spouses were affected .
When factors such as genetics and social class were taken into account, it became clear that having a husband or wife with the disease raised a person’s risk of developing it themselves six-fold.
[Source]
Chapter: Alzheimer's Disease :: 2 August 2010
