FOI reference: FOI-2026-3487
You asked
I am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 regarding the impact of dementia on family members and informal carers, with a focus on statistical data.
Please provide the following:
- Any statistics held on the prevalence or percentage of family members or informal carers of dementia patients who experience increased levels of stress, anxiety, or depression.
- Data on the number or proportion of individuals caring for dementia patients who have been formally diagnosed with mental health conditions (including anxiety disorders, depression, or stress-related conditions), compared to the general population.
- Any available statistics linking dementia caregiving to physical health outcomes in family members, including:
- Incidence or prevalence of cardiovascular conditions (e.g. heart attacks, hypertension)
- Other stress-related health conditions
Please include any comparative data with non-carers where available.
- Any longitudinal or large-scale studies, datasets, or surveys held that quantify the health impact of caring for someone with dementia on family members.
- Statistics on the uptake and effectiveness of support services for carers of dementia patients, including any measurable outcomes related to mental or physical health improvements.
- Any demographic breakdowns (e.g. age, gender, socioeconomic status) available within the above datasets.
Where possible, please provide this information in numerical or percentage form, including the most recent available data and any trends over time.
We said
Thank you for your request.
We have not collected, and do not hold, any statistics or data regarding the impact of dementia on family members and informal carers. Therefore, it is not possible to provide any statistics answering the questions in your request, or for us to obtain answers to the questions from the data we currently hold.
We do collect and publish data on the characteristics of informal carers as part of the census, but this does not include who they care for.
We have previously conducted ad-hoc work, which does not specifically cover the impact of caring for people with dementia, but does cover some overlapping topics, including:
the public understanding of dementia and its risk factors in Great Britain, using ad-hoc questions added to the Opinion and Lifestyle Survey (OPN)
Sandwich carers, using data from Understanding Society, which includes high-level information about who is being cared for and wellbeing of informal carers, but not information on the reasons people provide care
Unpaid care expectancy and health outcomes, using census data, including breakdowns by number of hours of caring
the impact of the pandemic on the unpaid carers, using data from the OPN; these were also using ad-hoc questions added to the OPN
Carers UK have published a report on the mental health of unpaid carers, which may be of interest to you.