• Posted June 17, 2025

Dementia Caregivers Themselves At Higher Risk For Brain Aging

TUESDAY, June 17, 2025 (HealthDay News) — People caring for people with dementia might face future risk with their own brain aging due to lifestyle factors, a new study says.

Nearly 3 in 5 dementia caregivers (59%) have at least one risk factor that increases their own chances of developing dementia over time, according to a June 12 report from the Public Health Center of Excellence on Dementia Caregiving.

And about 1 in 4 (24%) have two or more risk factors, experts say in the report titled Risk Factors For Cognitive Decline Among Dementia Caregivers.

“This analysis underscores the vulnerability of dementia caregivers,” Matthew Baumgart, senior vice president of health policy for the Alzheimer’s Association, said in a news release.

“Dementia caregivers are often so busy caring for a family member or friend that they overlook their own health,” said Baumgart, who serves on the public health center’s executive committee. “This analysis should be a wake-up call for public health to develop strategies that address caregiver health to help this at-risk population.”

For the report, researchers analyzed data on caregivers’ health gathered by federal public health agencies in 2021 and 2022 from 47 states.

Dementia caregivers were more likely than average folks to report five risk factors associated with unhealthy brain aging. Those were:

• Smoking (30% more likely)

• High blood pressure (27%)

• Poor sleep (21%)

• Diabetes (12%)

• Obesity (8%)

Physical activity was the one risk factor in which caregivers scored better than the general public. They were 9% less likely to report being physically inactive, possibly because of the demands of caregiving.

Younger caregivers are at even greater risk, the report says:

• Younger dementia caregivers are 40% more likely to have multiple risk factors (22% versus 16%) compared with others in their age group.

• Younger dementia caregivers were 86% more likely to smoke; 46% more likely to have high blood pressure; and 29% more likely to report fewer than six hours of sleep per night than their peers.

“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,” Joseph Gaugler said in a news release. He’s director of the Center for Healthy Aging and Innovation at University of Minnesota School of Public Health.

“Younger dementia caregivers, as well as American Indian/Alaska Native, Black, and male dementia caregivers, are all distinctly more likely to have conditions or behaviors that put them at greater long-term risk for cognitive decline and could benefit from additional attention,” he added.

More information

The Alzheimer’s Association has more about caregivers.

SOURCE: Alzheimer’s Association, news release, June 12, 2025