In the case of a family member, the stress caused by providing care for a loved one with Alzheimer’s puts about 25% of caregivers in the emergency room or hospital once every six months, according to a study by Indiana University.

The fact that family care of a patient with Alzheimer’s is difficult has long been recognized, but now Indiana University researchers measured the stress level precisely, and looked further into how caregivers’ physical and mental health is affected by it.

The study, published in the November issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine, was performed on 153 Alzheimer’s patients and their family caregivers, and thus included 366 people. 44% of the caregivers were husbands of wives, and 70% of them lived with their affected loved one. The caregivers’ age average was of 61 years.

The study discovered that age, education and relationship to the patient did not affect caregivers’ frequency of emergency room/hospital services use. Instead of their cognitive disability, it was the behavior and functioning of the patients that caused the most duress, and most often saw the caregiver hospitalized.

''Our findings opened our minds to the fact that society needs to expand the definition of patient to include both the person with Alzheimer's dementia and that individual's family caregiver,'' said Dr. Malaz Boustani, corresponding author of the study and assistant professor of medicine, in an Indiana University news release.

''For American society to respond to the growing epidemic of Alzheimer's disease, the health care system needs to re-think the definition of patient. These findings alert health-care delivery planners that they need to restructure the health care system to accommodate our new inclusive definition of patient,'' said Boustani, who is also the director of the Healthy Aging Brain Center.

Roughly four million older adults (middle-aged and senior citizens) suffer from Alzheimer’s disease in the United States. Some three million of them live in their communities, usually under the care of family members. It is estimated that by 2050 there will be 18.5 million people afflicted by Alzheimer’s disease in the U.S.

"While we've long known that Alzheimer's is a devastating disease to the patient, this study offers a look at how it also impacts the caregiver's health. If we don't offer help and support to the caregiver too, the stress of caring for someone with dementia can be overwhelming, both mentally and physically,"said Dr. Cathy C. Schubert, an assistant professor of clinical medicine in the IU School of Medicine, in the same news release.

The Alzheimer’s association has an article about caregivers’ stress which provides several hints on logistics, resources as well as the right attitude, which should help you better cope with the stress if you are in the position to care for a loved one stricken with the disease, and better aid them as well. The page can be found here.