A research has found that people who care for their spouses with dementia increase their risk of getting the illness by around 6 six times. The risk was not present for other people who cared for their partners without this illness.

The study also found that men are at a higher risk of developing dementia compared to women. The study has been published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

People suffering from dementia can suffer from symptoms like memory loss, agitation, mood swings and changes in personality.

It can be very difficult to provide care to people suffering from dementia, as a patient's behaviour may become suddenly strange or even abusive.

Research had earlier established that dementia caregivers are at an increased risk of developing health problems including depression. The risk is much higher than people caring for other patients with physical but not mental problems.

As a part of this study, 2,442 subjects without dementia - 1,221 married couples - aged 65 and older were studied for up to 12 years to monitor the onset of symptoms.

The study revealed that the risk of developing dementia increased around 12 times in men and around 3.7% in women if they were caring for a partner suffering from dementia.

Health experts feel that more research is needed to clearly understand this link between caregivers and dementia patients.