Alzheimer's Patient Familial Caregivers: A Review of Burden and Interventions

As the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease and related disorders (ADRD) increases, so does the staggering cost of providing care for patients with ADRD. Often, family or friends of patients adopt the role of primary caregiver (CG). Although this arrangement offsets the direct financial costs, the burden of caregiving can lead to detrimental physical, financial, and mental outcomes, including a 600 percent increased risk of spousal CGs developing dementia. The most successful interventions use multidisciplinary approaches, but results range from weak to moderate. This review presents current literature on CG burden, risk factors, and interventions, and proposes recommendations for future research. The authors advocate for a holistic, interdisciplinary team approach, including physicians, nurses, and social workers, focused on improving health and quality of life concurrently in both the CG and the care recipient.