United States Elder Care Facts

Who needs home care?

1. An estimated 36.8 million people - 12.4% of the population - are 65 and older.¹
2. The U.S. population age 65 and older is expected to double in size within the next 25 years.²
3. By 2030, almost 1 in 5 Americans - some 72 million people - will be65 or older.²
4. The 85+ population is projected to double from 4.7 million in 2003 to 9.6 million in 2030 - and double again to 20.9 million in 2050.²
5. In 1960, only 1.6% of older men and 1.5% of women age 65 and older were divorced. By 2003, 7% of older men and 8.6% of older women were divorced and had not remarried.³
6. About 80% of seniors have at least one chronic health condition and 50% have at least two.³

Source(s):
1. Obtained directly from U.S. Census Bureau (2006)
2. U.S. Census Bureau Web Site: www.census.gov (2006)
3. U.S. Census Bureau: 65+ in the United States 2005 (2005)

Who provides home care?

1. Nearly 25% of all American adults currently provide daily companionship or assistance to a parent or relative.¹
2. Approximately 60% of family caregivers are women.²
3. The typical family caregiver is a 46-year-old woman caring for her widowed mother who does not live with her. She is married and employed.²
4. An estimated 88% of married individuals report their spouse as their key caregiver.³

Source(s)
1. Harris Interactive Study for Home Instead Senior Care (2003)
2. National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP: Caregiving in the U.S. (2004)
3. U.S. Census Bureau: 65+ in the United States (2005)

Who needs help?

1. Approximately 37% of family caregivers spend more than 40 hours a week providing care, and 30% spend 20 to 39 hours per week doing so.¹
2. Nearly seven in 10 (69%)family caregivers spend less time with family and friends since becoming caregivers.¹
3. Nine in 10 family caregivers (91%) surveyed - all in fair/poor health - suffer from depression, an eight in 10 (81%) of those with depression report that caregiving had made their depression worse.¹
4. Approximately 62% of family caregivers who work have had to make some adjustments to their work life, from reporting late to work to giving up work entirely.²
5. Nearly one in five caregivers (17%) says they provide more than 40 hours of care per week to a loved one.²
6. A wife's hospitalization increased her husband's chances of dying within a month by 35%. A husband's hospitalization boosted his wife's mortality risk by 44%.³
7. Extreme stress can take as much as 10 years off a family caregiver's life.⁴
8. Family caregivers report having a chronic condition at more than twice the rate of non-caregivers.¹²

Source(s):
1. Evercare: Evercare Study of Caregivers in Decline: A Close-up Look at the Health Risks of Caring for a Loved One ( www.evercarehealthplans.com, 2006)
2. National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP: Caregiving in the U.S. (2004)
3. New England Journal of Medicine (2006)
4. Peter S. Arno: Economic Value of Informal Caregiving (2006)