To explore health behaviors [physical activity (PA), substance use (SU)] among family caregivers of older adults with dementia. 

Caring for a person with dementia (PWD) is associated with significant negative mental and physical health consequences. Dementia caregivers’ PA and SU, and their correlates, are not extensively characterized in the literature. Given PA and SU are risk factors for dementia, understanding these behaviors is important to guide dementia prevention approaches in this vulnerable subgroup.  

Eighty-eight family caregivers of older adults with memory problems and functional impairments were recruited through a Memory Disorders Clinic and community outreach efforts in Virginia. Caregivers completed self-report cross-sectional surveys, including the International Physical Activity Questionnaire, used to determine caregivers’ PA compared to CDC recommendations for moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), and the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-Consumption (AUDIT-C). Descriptive statistics, multiple analyses of variance, and chi-square tests were utilized.  

In this sample, 58% of caregivers fell below the CDC recommended weekly MVPA target; they trended to be younger, report higher emotional caregiving burden, and lower well-being (ps≤.07) compared to those who met MVPA targets.Caregivers who expressed interest in learning about new exercise programs for themselves (n=36, 40.0%) were younger and report greater care intensity (ps<.05). Twenty-one caregivers (23.3%) were classified as high-risk alcohol users, 17 (19.3%) reported at least weekly marijuana use, and two (2.3%) reported regular tobacco use. 

In this exploratory study, the majority of dementia caregivers did not report meeting weekly recommended PA targets, and approximately 1/5 endorsed high-risk alcohol use and regular marijuana use. Younger caregivers expressed an interest in exercise intervention. PWD neurology visits may be an appropriate point-of-intervention with family caregivers to discuss health behaviors that confer (substance use) and are protective against (physical activity) dementia risk.