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The Alzheimer’s Association®
estimates that 10 million baby boomers will develop Alzheimer’s disease
in the United States, according to their new report released today, the 2008
Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures.
The new report says the
disease is poised to strike one out of eight baby boomers. According to the
Alzheimer’s Association, now is the time to address this looming epidemic
that currently has no effective disease-modifying treatments that halt or delay
the progression of the disease.
Today, as many as 5.2 million
Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease, which includes between
200,000-500,000 people under age 65 with young-onset Alzheimer’s disease
or other dementias. Experts predict by 2010, there will be almost a half million
new cases of Alzheimer’s disease each year; and by 2050, there will be
almost a million new cases each year.
The Association’s report details the escalation of Alzheimer’s disease,
which now is the seventh leading cause of death in the country and the fifth
leading cause of death for those over age 65. It also offers numerous statistics
that convey the burden Alzheimer’s imposes on individuals, families, government,
business, and the nation’s health and long term care systems. For example:
• Every 71 seconds,
someone in America develops Alzheimer’s disease; by mid-century someone
will develop Alzheimer’s every 33 seconds.
• Women are nearly twice as likely as men to develop Alzheimer’s
disease (17 percent vs. 9 percent). One in six women and one in ten men age
55 and older can expect to develop Alzheimer’s disease in their remaining
lifetime. Although it may appear that being female is a risk factor, more
women will develop Alzheimer’s because on average, women live longer
than men, thereby having more time to develop the disease.
• In 2007, there were nearly 10 million Americans age 18 and over providing
8.4 billion hours of unpaid care to people with Alzheimer’s disease
valued at $89 billion, four times more than what Medicaid pays for nursing
home care for people with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.
• In addition, a quarter million American children age 8 to 18 years
old are providing care to loved ones with Alzheimer’s.
• There are 1 to 1.4 million “long distance caregivers”
in the United States. About 1 million live more than two hours or more away
and another 400,000 live at least an hour away from their loved ones. Many
of these long distance caregivers also incur higher caregiving-related expenses
compared to other caregivers.
• Seventy percent of people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias
live at home where friends and family take care of them.
“The information in the 2008 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures
makes it clear the Alzheimer crisis cannot be ignored – not when 10
million baby boomers are at risk for developing this fatal disease. Unchecked,
this disease will impose staggering consequences on families, the economy
and the nation’s health and long term care infrastructure” says
Harry Johns, President and CEO of the Alzheimer’s Association.
According to the latest
statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, from 2000-2005
death rates have declined for most major diseases -- heart disease (-8.6 percent),
breast cancer (-.8 percent), prostate cancer (-4.9 percent) and stroke (-14.4
percent), while Alzheimer’s disease deaths continue to trend upward, increasing
45 percent during that period.
“We have the opportunity to change the trajectory of this disease now.
Today’s scientific landscape is rich with possible disease-modifying treatments
– but the shrinking investment in Alzheimer research threatens these breakthroughs,”
Johns said. “There is real hope for a better future where Alzheimer’s
is no longer a death sentence but how fast we get there depends on how much
we are willing to invest today,” added Johns.
Medicare currently spends
more than three times as much for people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias
than for the average Medicare beneficiary. In 2005, Medicare spent $91 billion
on beneficiaries with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias and is projected
to spend $160 billion by 2010 and $189 billion by 2015. In 2005, state and federal
Medicaid spending for nursing home and home care for people with Alzheimer’s
and other dementias was estimated at $21 billion and is projected to increase
to $24 billion in 2010 and $27 billion in 2015.
The new report also highlights
the impact that Alzheimer’s has on states with more than 6 in 10 (62%)
having double digit growth in prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease by the
end of the decade. In addition, unpaid caregivers of people with Alzheimer’s
and other dementias provided care valued at more than $1 billion in each of
31 states, while unpaid caregivers in California, Florida, New York and Texas
provided care valued at more than $4 billion per state.
The Alzheimer's Association
is the leading voluntary health organization in Alzheimer care, support and
research. Our mission is to eliminate Alzheimer’s disease through the
advancement of research; to provide and enhance care and support for all affected;
and to reduce the risk of dementia through the promotion of brain health. Our
vision is a world without Alzheimer’s. For more information, visit www.alz.org.
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