Alzheimer's disease - Influence on female caregivers' living and mental health

Abstract

Dementia is a public health problem that will become more obvious as the population grows older. There are 50 million people with dementia in the world, and it is estimated that the number of people with dementia will rise to 65.7 million by 2030, and 115.4 million by 2050. At present, we are trying to diagnose dementia as early as possible, and it is important to offer patients and their families a continuous and high-quality program of treatment and care. In this article, we wanted to show the main problems connected with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias in the modern world which influence the lives of female caregivers. The influence on women who take care of people with dementia as professional caregivers, as well as women who take the role of an informal caregiver of a person with dementia has been described. Early recognition of emotional stress in caregivers is necessary for successful preventive actions (counselling, supportive psychotherapy, cognitive-behavioural treatment) and for preventing the development or worsening of already existing somatic diseases (e.g. cardiovascular), as well as mental disorders, among which, apart from insomnia, anxiety and depression are the most common forms.