The Impact of Alzheimer's Disease

The Impact of Alzheimer's Disease
AD is the most common cause of dementia among people age 65 and older. Dementia is the loss of memory, reason, judgment, and language to such an extent that it interferes with a person's daily life and activities. It is not a disease itself, but a group of symptoms that often accompanies a disease or condition.

AD is a major public health problem for the United States because it has such a huge impact on individuals, families, the health care system, and society. Scientists estimate that up to 4 million people now have AD. For every 5-year age group beyond 65, the percentage of people with AD doubles.

More than 34 million people are now age 65 or older. This number is 13 percent of the total population of the U.S. The percentage of people over age 65 will increase rapidly over the next few years as the "baby boom" generation reaches 65. In addition, the group of people over 85 - the group with the highest risk of Alzheimer's disease - is the fastest growing segment of the population. By 2050, 14 million older Americans are expected to have Alzheimer's disease if the current numbers hold and no preventive treatments become available.

Slightly more than half of those with AD are cared for at home, while the rest are in different kinds of care facilities. A recent study estimated that the annual cost of caring for one person with AD in 1996 was between $18,400 and $36,100, depending on how advanced the disease was and whether or not the person wasat home. The cost of care has been steadily rising since then. The national cost of caring for people with AD is now thought to be about $100 billion every year. The cost of care is not only financial. Families, friends, and caregivers strugglewith great emotional and physical stress as they cope with the physical and mental changes in their loved ones. Caregivers must juggle many responsibilities and adjust to new and changing roles. As the disease gets worse and caring at home becomes increasingly difficult, family members face difficult decisions about long-term care. The number of caregivers - and their needs - will steadily grow as our population ages and the number of people with AD in reases.

How Many New Cases of AD Were There in 1995? How Many New Cases May Occur in the Future? Researchers recently projected the number of new cases of AD that could occur every year over the next 50 years if current population trends continue and no preventive treatments emerge. They estimate that the number of new cases every year will double between 1995 and 2050 - from 377,000 to 959,000. Two factors will combine to cause this large increase: The fact that the risk of AD increases as people get older. The growing numbers of older people, especially those over 85. The annual number of new cases will begin to climb sharply around the year 2040, when all the baby boomers will be over 65. << Back | Next >>