Alzheimer Disease: Brace, Brace, Brace for the Aging Baby Boomer!
The Alzheimer's Association has a new report on the large and growing effect of Alzheimer disease and other dementias on Americans. Here's the distillation:
- AD is the most common cause of dementia, affecting 5.3 million Americans (1.7% of the current US population). The vast majority (96%) of those affected are older than 64 years of age.
- Dementia affects women preferentially because they live longer, on average, than men. (Advancing age is the biggest risk factor for AD.)
- In 2006, AD was the 7th leading cause of death among all Americans. In those older than 64 years of age, AD was the 5th most likely cause of death.
- Next year, the first baby boomers will turn 65. In 30 years, all of the estimated 70 million baby boomers will be older than 65. The Association estimates that there will be 1 million new cases of AD by the year 2050.
- People with AD and other types of dementia need a lot of health care, including long-term and hospice care. In 2010, care costs for people with dementia will reach $172 billion. Medicare costs for people with dementia are nearly 3 times higher than those for the nondemented elderly. Medicaid costs are nearly 9 times higher. (Blogger's note: I suspect this is the result of Medicaid-funded nursing home care.)
- Older African Americans and Hispanics are about 2 and 1.5 times more likely, respectively, to have AD and other types of dementia than older whites.* Reasons for the higher risk of AD among these minorities include a greater prevalence of known risk factors for dementia, like hypertension, diabetes, and lower education and income levels. (Ethnically dependent genetic risks have not been identified.) Despite the higher risk of dementia among African Americans and Hispanics, the diagnosis is more likely to be delayed in affected minority patients. Delays in diagnosis mean missed opportunities for treatment, which is more likely to be effective in the early stages of AD.
- Last year, nearly 11 million family members or other uncompensated persons provided 12.5 billion hours of care for people with dementia. Unpaid care was assessed at $144 billion, which is more than the US government (ie, Medicare and Medicaid) spends on people with dementia. Costs of giving care are also measured in emotional and physical stress, declining caregiver health, and lost employment-related productivity.
* This is the lead of today's press release from the Alzheimer's Association.
Photograph of atrophied brain from person with AD: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
