A survey commissioned by Alzheimer Europe conducted in four European nations and the United States showed a marked difference in how men and women view and respond to Alzheimer's Disease.
Presented at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Paris, the survey showed that Alzheimer's weighs more heavily on women's minds than men's. Women in France, Germany, Spain, Poland and the United States are more concerned than men about a loved one developing Alzheimer's, and are also more fearful of getting Alzheimer's compared to other diseases.
In all of the countries, women are more likely than men to be involved in day-to-day care of relatives with Alzheimer's. In Poland, there was more than a 10% difference. In addition, women in France and Poland are significantly more involved in the decision-making and financial support of the Alzheimer's patient.
While both women and men named their spouses as the person who would mostly likely care for them should they develop Alzheimer's, men are more certain that wives would care for them than the reverse, particularly in Spain. In all of the countries, women are more likely to rely on children or paid caregivers outside the family than men are, the survey said.