A population-based study was performed to investigate the subjective and objective burden due to caring for a demented relative. All the relatives of the subjects with cognitive impairment, detected in a district of Stockholm, living at home, were included in the study. When compared with relatives of elderly, mentally healthy persons living at home in the same district, they had high ORs for subjective burden and for use of psychotropic drugs. Spouses were the most stressed. However, the ORs for use of medical facilities and somatic drugs were close to unity, showing that caring for a demented person did not affect the physical health of the relative. A second comparison between relatives of demented persons living at home and in institutions, showed that the relatives of institutionalized subjects were less frequently spouses and had more problems with their physical health, but both groups had similar subjective feeling of stress.