Market-based guidance: This article covers information from both Korea and the United States. Each piece of information is marked in the text as 🇰🇷 Korea or 🇺🇸 U.S. to indicate which country's standards apply.
You may remember your parents' next doctor's appointment clearly, yet struggle to recall when you last had your own health checkup. This is a common pattern among those providing care. When you keep telling yourself "I'll do it a bit later" or "once my parents are more stable," suddenly a year or two have slipped away. Today, let's calmly look at why caregivers tend to put their own health on the back burner and what long-term impact this has.
🇺🇸 U.S. According to a 2025 report released by AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving, approximately 63 million family caregivers currently exist in the United States—roughly one in four adults. More than half of them work while simultaneously providing care, and one in four spends 40 hours or more per week on caregiving. The same report notes that over 13 million caregivers are failing to properly manage their own health while caring for others.
🇰🇷 Korea Looking at the results of the 2023 Dementia Epidemiology and Status Survey conducted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, approximately 45.8% of families with dementia patients living in the community reported feeling burdened by caregiving. This statistic reflects that family caregivers are experiencing not only financial burden but also physical and psychological exhaustion. Furthermore, in 🇰🇷 Korea the Ministry of Health and Welfare's 2024 National Mental Health Knowledge and Attitude Survey, the response rate for experiencing serious stress rose sharply from 36.0% in 2022 to 46.3% in 2024, while depression lasting several days increased from 30.0% to 40.2%. While these figures are not unique to those in caregiving roles, they suggest that caregiving stress is not unrelated to the overall increase in mental health burden.
🇺🇸 U.S. In a 2025 A Place for Mom caregiver survey, 78% of respondents reported having experienced burnout, with many noting they feel burnout weekly or daily. Additionally, half of caregivers reported experiencing sleep problems at least once a week or more. Sleep deprivation can lead to weakened immune function, elevated blood pressure, and decreased concentration—signs that extend beyond simple fatigue. 🇺🇸 U.S. A study published in the journal Frontiers in Public Health (2024) explains that prolonged caregiving stress can result in physical problems such as elevated blood pressure, immune suppression, and severe exhaustion.
So why do caregivers postpone their own health checkups? It's partly a matter of time, but psychological factors play a significant role too. There's the fear of "who will care for my parents if I get sick," the avoidance that comes from not wanting to know if the results might be bad, and feelings of guilt about directing resources toward something other than caregiving. A survey by ARCH National Respite Network, 🇺🇸 U.S. a family caregiver support organization, also points out that caregivers simply neglect their own needs due to lack of time. When focused on the person being cared for, your own hospital appointments naturally become a lower priority.
Here's one crucial fact: when a caregiver's health deteriorates, the quality of care suffers too. For the sake of sustainable caregiving, attending to your own health is not a selfish act but an essential preparation. Scheduling your health checkup for the same day as or close to your parents' medical appointments, and arranging in advance for another family member to provide care during that time, can be practical first steps.
Source: AARP and National Alliance for Caregiving, Caregiving in the U.S. 2025 Report; A Place for Mom, 2025 Caregiver Burnout and Stress Statistics; Ministry of Health and Welfare, Results of 2023 Dementia Epidemiology and Status Survey (announced October 2024); Ministry of Health and Welfare, 2024 National Mental Health Knowledge and Attitude Survey; Frontiers in Public Health, Design and psychometrics of the family caregivers burnout inventory (2024).
Note: This article was compiled by AI from the sources cited above. We strive for accuracy, but for decisions about your specific situation, please confirm the latest guidance from a professional or the relevant agency.