“Women in the middle”: An observational study of a generation story in Alzheimer disease in France

BackgroundIt is well known that informal care giving for Alzheimer patients can be a burden and may result in caregivers’ distress and stress. Caring for a person with Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a difficult task, which can become overwhelming. Their caregivers need attention as well.ObjectivesThe present study examines the socio-demographic characteristics and the quality of health and life of the sandwich grandparent generation (SGP) caregivers defined as providing care to both old demented parents and young grandchildren.Study designMulticentric, prospective and observational study over a one-year period.SettingEleven voluntary Memory Clinics across the North of France.ParticipantsVoluntary SGP caregivers recruited in Memory Clinics who completed an oral questionnaire, during an interview one to one with a physician.ResultsA vast majority of our SGP caregivers were women, mean age 59 years, married, retired, described in the literature as “women in the middle”, felling stressed and not sleeping well in more than half of the cases. They had three grandchildren, mean age 7 years. The AD patient, mean age 86-years-old, was most frequently the caregiver's mother. Many SGPs had been providing their help for 5 years or even longer. Nevertheless, the SGPs considered themselves satisfied about their health, and said they had a good quality of life.ConclusionAlthough SGP women caregivers reported high levels of perceived burden, they considered that their health and quality of life were good.