Growing older often comes with challenges, and among them is the risk of developing dementia.
As dementia becomes more prevalent, the strain it puts on marital relationships has become increasingly evident.
A recent study from the Yale School of Public Health has shed some light on the nuanced relationship between dementia and the likelihood of divorce in older adults.
Rising Divorce Rates in Older Adults
The divorce rate among older adults has been on the rise in recent years.
Introducing dementia into a marriage can be particularly challenging due to the caregiving responsibilities, changing nature of intimacy, and the financial burdens it may bring.
The Study’s Findings
Joan Monin and her colleagues analyzed data from 37 Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centers across the US.
They compared 263 couples where at least one partner had dementia and subsequently divorced or separated, against 1,238 age-matched couples without such outcomes.
Here are the key findings:
As dementia became more severe, the risk of divorce or separation reduced. Specifically, for each increase in the clinical dementia rating scale, there was a corresponding decrease in the likelihood of divorce or separation.
On the contrary, as behavioral symptoms worsened, as indicated by the Neuro Psychiatric Inventory scores, the likelihood of divorce or separation increased.
Symptoms like agitation, aggression, disinhibition, depression, and elation were particularly challenging for marital stability.
Implications and Recommendations
Behavioral symptoms, rather than the severity of dementia itself, seem to play a more critical role in marital separations in older age.
Addressing these symptoms can benefit not just the individuals experiencing them but their spouses and families as well.
This calls for more comprehensive treatments focused on behavioral symptoms and greater support for couples in the early stages of dementia.
The authors highlight that “neuropsychiatric behavioral symptoms are risk factors for divorce or separation in older adult couples.”
Concluding Thoughts
Understanding dementia’s impact on relationships can help professionals provide better support and intervention.
As dementia progresses, the likelihood of divorce decreases, but the early stages, marked by challenging behavioral symptoms, maybe the most crucial time for couples to receive support and guidance.
If you care about dementia, please read studies about walking patterns may help identify specific types of dementia, and common high blood pressure drugs may help lower your dementia risk.
For more information about brain health, please see recent studies that the herb rosemary could help fight COVID-19, and Alzheimer’s disease, and results showing this stuff in the mouth may help prevent Alzheimer’s.
The study was published in PLOS ONE.
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