Rosalynn Carter, the wife of former President Jimmy Carter, has been diagnosed with dementia, The Carter Center announced Tuesday.
"She continues to live happily at home with her husband, enjoying spring in Plains and visits with loved ones," the center said in a statement about the former first lady, 95, ABC News reported.
The center said Mrs. Carter has long been an advocate for mental health, and the announcement was being made to decrease the stigma around dementia.
"We recognize, as she did more than half a century ago, that stigma is often a barrier that keeps individuals and their families from seeking and getting much-needed support," the center said in its statement. "We hope sharing our family's news will increase important conversations at kitchen tables and in doctor’s offices around the country."
Former President Carter has been in hospice care since February after a series of hospitalizations. The couple is the longest-married presidential pair, having been married since 1946.
The former president, who is 98 years old, is the oldest living former president, and the longest-lived one, in American history.
The Carters founded The Carter Center in Georgia after Jimmy Carter's election loss to Ronald Reagan.
Since its founding, the Center has become a humanitarian powerhouse that focuses on public health and human rights. The Carters are also well known for their long association with Habitat for Humanity.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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