Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter Has Dementia

Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter has been diagnosed with dementia, the Carter Center announced Tuesday.

"The Carter family is sharing that former First Lady Rosalynn Carter has dementia. She continues to live happily at home with her husband, enjoying spring in Plains and visits with loved ones," her family wrote in a statement.

Carter, 95, is the wife of former President Jimmy Carter, who served as president from 1977 to 1981. In the statement released Tuesday afternoon, her family noted her decades-long work in mental health advocacy.

"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. We hope sharing our family's news will increase important conversations at kitchen tables and in doctor's offices around the country," the statement reads.

"As the founder of the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregivers, Mrs. Carter often noted that there are only four kinds of people in this world: those who have been caregivers; those who are currently caregivers, those who will be caregivers, and those who will need caregivers. The universality of caregiving is clear in our family, and we are experiencing the joy and the challenges of this journey."

Many took to social media to express well wishes for the former first lady.

"Thinking of and praying for First Lady Rosalynn Carter and for President Carter during these tough and tender times. So grateful for their continuing example of service and sacrifice," tweeted Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia, the Carters' home state.

"Let's take a moment and keep both Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter in our thoughts & send them our best," tweeted political commentator Victor Shi.

"Rosalynn Carter has been one of America's great champions of mental health and, like her husband Jimmy Carter, has done so much for America and the world. Heroes, both. Sad to hear that at age 95, she has been diagnosed with dementia," journalist Nicholas Kristof wrote on Twitter.

In February, the Carter family announced that Jimmy Carter, who at 98 years old is the longest-living former president in United States history, would be entering hospice care "after a series of short hospital stays."

The Carters have been married for nearly 77 years, making them the longest-married first couple in the U.S., according to the Associated Press.

The Carter Center wrote Tuesday that they "do not expect to comment further and ask for understanding for our family and for everyone across the country serving in a caregiver role."

Update 05/30/23, 2:19 p.m. ET: This story was updated with additional information.