Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia Facts
Dementia is not a disease; it is a symptom of a disease. Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of dementia.
An estimated 5.2 million Americans have Alzheimer’s disease.
Many doctors are calling it the “Plague of the New Century”, with 1 out of 3 people knowing someone affected by the disease.
Less than half of Alzheimer’s disease patients are diagnosed.
More than 7 out of 10 people with a memory impairing disease live at home.
The number of Americans with Alzheimer’s has more than doubled since 1980.
In the home, 75 percent of care for persons with memory impairment is provided by family and friends.
Alzheimer’s patients face social, financial and medical problems that can be avoided or reduced.
Early diagnosis and appropriate intervention can lessen the disease burden on patient and family members.
A regular cognitive stimulation regime and customized intervention program can preserve skills and abilities of implicit memory such as independence, personal care and language.
Individuals can regain & maintain levels of functional independence and a higher quality of life with a targeted memory enhancement program.
The number of Americans with Alzheimer’s disease will continue to grow – by 2050 the number of individuals with Alzheimer’s could range from 11.3 million to 16 million.
Every 71 seconds, someone in the world is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. In the next ten years, experts estimate that this will increase to every 11 seconds, someone being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
Annual costs of treating & caring for individuals with Alzheimer’s disease are at least $100 billion, according to estimates used by the Alzheimer’s Association and the National Institute on Aging.
Alzheimer’s disease costs American business $61 billion a year, according to a report commissioned by the Alzheimer’s Association. Of that figure, $24.6 billion covers Alzheimer health care and $36.5 billion covers costs related to caregivers of individuals with Alzheimer’s, including lost productivity, absenteeism and worker replacement.
Caregivers of persons with dementia were far less likely to institutionalize their relatives when they are provided help and assistance with tasks like personal care, hygiene and other activities of daily living.
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