Alzheimer’s and Its Impact on Women
Alzheimer’s and Its Impact on Women
Oct. 15, 2010 -- It's been a year since Maria Shriver, California's first lady and perhaps its best-known women's advocate, released The Shriver Report: A Woman's Nation Changes Everything. The landmark study examined how Americans live and work now that mothers are the primary or co-breadwinners in nearly two-thirds of U.S. families, and the far-reaching effects of these shifting roles.
This week, the sequel is here: The Shriver Report: A Woman's Nation Takes on Alzheimer's. It focuses on the impact of the Alzheimer's epidemic, talks about cutting-edge research, includes personal essays by celebrities, patients, and caregivers, and reveals the results of a large-scale poll on Alzheimer's.
Maria Shriver and The Alzheimer’s Association have joined together to report on the special impact Alzheimer’s has on women – as caregivers and patients.
Join the conversation: How has Alzheimer’s affected you, your family, or your friends?
The puzzling, frustrating brain disorder now affects 5.3 million Americans and may affect 16 million by 2050. Sixty-five percent of those with Alzheimer's are women, and women are also more likely than men to be caregivers for someone with the disease.
''This is a nationwide epidemic, and women are at the epicenter of it," says Shriver, who was an executive producer for The Alzheimer's Project documentaries that aired last year on HBO.
According to the poll, which gathered information from 3,118 adults nationwide, including more than 500 Alzheimer caregivers:
For Shriver, 54, fighting the epidemic is intensely personal. Her father, politician Sargent Shriver, the first leader of the Peace Corps who was also active in his late wife Eunice Kennedy Shriver's Special Olympics, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2003. He is now 94.
This week, Shriver talked to WebMD about how far she's come since the diagnosis, the momentous tasks that lie ahead, and her own fear that she, too, will get Alzheimer's.
Q: Can you tell us how the new report came to be?
This week, the sequel is here: The Shriver Report: A Woman's Nation Takes on Alzheimer's. It focuses on the impact of the Alzheimer's epidemic, talks about cutting-edge research, includes personal essays by celebrities, patients, and caregivers, and reveals the results of a large-scale poll on Alzheimer's.
Alzheimer’s Impact on Women
Maria Shriver and The Alzheimer’s Association have joined together to report on the special impact Alzheimer’s has on women – as caregivers and patients.
Related Content:
- Slideshow: When a Loved One Has Alzheimer’s
- 7 Alzheimer's Warning Signs
- Dealing With Alzheimer's Disease Memory Loss
- Alzheimer's Caregivers: Sandwiched Between Parenting Your Kids and Your Parents
- 10 Tips for Long-Distance Alzheimer’s Disease Caregiving
Community:
Join the conversation: How has Alzheimer’s affected you, your family, or your friends?
The puzzling, frustrating brain disorder now affects 5.3 million Americans and may affect 16 million by 2050. Sixty-five percent of those with Alzheimer's are women, and women are also more likely than men to be caregivers for someone with the disease.
''This is a nationwide epidemic, and women are at the epicenter of it," says Shriver, who was an executive producer for The Alzheimer's Project documentaries that aired last year on HBO.
According to the poll, which gathered information from 3,118 adults nationwide, including more than 500 Alzheimer caregivers:
- 60% of Alzheimer's caregivers are women.
- Of those women, 68% report they have emotional stress from caregiving.
- Nearly half of these 68% rate their stress as a ''5'' on a scale of "1" to "5."
- 57% of all caregivers, including 2/3 of the women, admit they fear getting Alzheimer's.
- 4 in 10 caregivers say they had no choice about their new role.
For Shriver, 54, fighting the epidemic is intensely personal. Her father, politician Sargent Shriver, the first leader of the Peace Corps who was also active in his late wife Eunice Kennedy Shriver's Special Olympics, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2003. He is now 94.
This week, Shriver talked to WebMD about how far she's come since the diagnosis, the momentous tasks that lie ahead, and her own fear that she, too, will get Alzheimer's.
Q: Can you tell us how the new report came to be?
