AD: A Growing National Problem

For many older adults and their families, AD stands in the way of the “Golden Years.” It also presents a major problem for our health care system and society as a whole. AD is the most common cause of dementia among older people. Recent estimates of how many people in the United States currently have AD differ, with numbers ranging from 2.4 million to 4.5 million, depending on how AD is measured. But scientists agree that unless the disease can be effectively treated or prevented, the numbers will increase significantly if current population trends continue.

Our aging society makes AD an especially critical issue. A 2005 Census Bureau report on aging in the United States notes that the population age 65 and older is expected to double in size to about 72 million people within the next 25 years. Moreover, the 85 and older age group is now the fastest growing segment of the population. This is all the more important for a neurodegenerative disease like AD because the number of people with the disease doubles for every 5-year age interval beyond age 65.

AD not only affects the people with the disease, of course. The number of AD caregivers—and their needs—can be expected to rise rapidly as the population ages and as the number of people with AD grows. During their years of AD caregiving, spouses, relatives, and friends experience great emotional, physical, and financial challenges. As the disease runs its course and the abilities of people with AD steadily decline, family members face difficult, and often costly, decisions about the long-term care of their loved ones.

The growing number of people with AD and the costs associated with the disease also put a heavy economic burden on society. The national direct and indirect costs of caring for people with AD are estimated to be more than $100 billion a year. A 2004 study provided an equally sobering picture of the impact of AD. It is estimated that if current AD trends continue, total Federal Medicare spending to treat beneficiaries with the disease will increase from $62 billion in 2000 to $189 billion in 2015.

For these reasons, AD is an urgent research priority. We need to find ways to manage and treat AD because of its broad-reaching and devastating impact. We now know that the disease process begins many years, perhaps even decades, before symptoms emerge. Discovering ways to identify AD in the earliest stages and halt or slow its progress will benefit individuals, families, and the Nation as a whole.

See the glossary for definitions of boldfaced terms.

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