Most dementia carers report loneliness or health problems
Alzheimer Nederland concludes from a survey of unpaid carers that a large majority of people caring for someone with dementia struggle, and the number of people needing such care is set to keep rising.
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Illustrative photo: G.Lanting / CC BY-SA 4.0
Alzheimer Nederland says people who care voluntarily for someone with dementia experience more loneliness, psychological problems and physical problems. It reached this conclusion in a survey, the Dementiemonitor, published on Dag van de Mantelzorger (Informal Carers' Day). A large majority of carers report one or more of these complaints.
More than two in three carers report mental problems, about 65% relational problems and six in ten physical complaints. Almost three in ten say they can keep going for one more year at most. Almost seven in ten find it hard to combine care with work or family life, and one in five working carers has cut their hours.
About 320,000 people in the Netherlands currently have dementia, with about 800,000 unpaid carers (mantelzorgers). Alzheimer Nederland warns that both numbers will keep rising as the population ages. Director Wiesje van der Flier said: "Caring for someone with dementia often goes on for years, and it gets more and more demanding as the years go by."
Most results match earlier years. One does not: carers in this survey spend an average of 28 hours a week on care, down sharply from 37, 39 and 40 hours in 2024, 2022 and 2020. The foundation has no clear explanation.
Carers' weekly care hours fall sharply to 28
Hours per week · 2020–2026
Carers' weekly care hours fall sharply to 28 (hours per week). From 40 in 2020 to 28 in 2026; highest 40 in 2020, lowest 28 in 2026. Source: Alzheimer Nederland, Dementiemonitor.
View data
| Period | Hours per week |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 40 |
| 2022 | 39 |
| 2024 | 37 |
| 2026 | 28 |
The survey also shows more people with dementia living in a care institution: 36% of respondents, against 21% in 2020.
More than 12,000 carers filled in the questionnaire, in a survey run with the research institute Nivel. The results are not fully representative of the Dutch population: carers with a migration background, for example, are under-represented. The monitor appears every two years, and the questionnaire has been used since 2006.
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