A new report from the Alzheimer’s Association says there are more than 5 million people in the US living with Alzheimer’s disease today.
This figure is 10 per cent higher than the previous estimate of 4.5 million from five years ago and is based on federal population counts and not new disease studies.
The report, titled “2007 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures”, is issued to coincide with the Alzheimer’s Association’s annual Public Policy Forum, which started yesterday in the nation’s capital with a gathering of hundreds of advocates from across the US.
It was released at a hearing chaired by Senator Barbara Mikulski, who with Senator Christopher Bond and Representatives Edward Markey and Christopher Smith have introduced bipartisan legislation to address issues highlighted in the report.
The estimate of 5 million people with Alzheimer’s this year includes 4.9 million, or 1 in 8 people, over the age of 65 and half of those over the age of 85. And there is a surprising number between 200,000 and 500,000 of people under 65 with early onset Alzheimer’s and other dementias.
The number of younger Alzheimer’s suffereres is something the Association feels is “drastically underreported,” said Dr Bill Thies, the medical director of the Association. An example is a person in their 50s showing behaviour changes at work that could be early signs of Alzheimer’s such as forgetting deadlines or missing appointments.
Increasing age is the greatest risk factor for Alzheimer’s. And as 78 million baby boomers are now in their 60s, the estimated prevalence is set to go up to 7.7 million by 2030 .
By mid-century the report estimates 16 million people will have Alzheimer’s, which is more than the combined current population of New York City, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles.
Alzheimer’s is now the seventh leading cause of death in the US and the fifth leading cause of death for the over 65s.
One of the reasons the disease is on the rise is because of success in reducing deaths due to the other big killers. “we’re keeping people alive so they can live long enough to get Alzheimer’s disease,” is how the Alzheimer’s Association vice president, Steve McConnell, put it.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), between 2000 and 2004, death rates have come down for heart disease by 8 per cent, stroke by 10.4 per cent, breast cancer by 2.6 per cent, and prostate cancer by 6.3 per cent. But deaths due to Alzheimer’s, according to the CDC, have risen by 33 per cent in the same period.
Harry Johns, President and CEO of the Association explains that the report, “shows the tremendous impact this disease is having on the nation; and with the projected growth of the disease, the collective impact on individuals, families, Medicare, Medicaid, and businesses will be even greater”.
However, he says it is not all doom and gloom and there is hope. There are 9 promising drugs in phase 3 trials which aim to slow the disease’s progress, which with better diagnostic tools hold “the potential to change the landscape of Alzheimer’s”. This could mean significantly reducing costs of care and increasing the quality of life for Alzheimer’s sufferers and their families.
“We must make the fight against Alzheimer’s a national priority before it’s too late. The absence of effective disease modifying drugs, coupled with an aging population, makes Alzheimer’s the health care crisis of the 21st century,” Johns added.
The report puts the direct and indirect cost to the nation at 148 billion US dollars per year. Currently Medicare spends almost three times as much for people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias as for the average beneficiary. Its costs are set to double to nearly 190 billion US dollars in 2015 from the 2005 figure.
Meanwhile the Medicaid bill for nursing homes and home care for people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias is set to go up from the 21 billion US dollar 2005 figure to 27 billion in 2015.
By the end of the decade many states will have double digit growth in the number of people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias. In 2003 the largest numbers of deaths to the disease were in California, Florida, Texas, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.
Last week, the National Institute on Aging and the US State Department hosted a summit on Global Aging where a report titled “Why Population Aging Matters: A Global Perspective” presented nine trends in global aging:
(1) The global population is aging. For the first time in history the over 65s will outnumber the under 5s.
(2) Life expectancy is increasing in most countries, including developing nations.
(3) The number of oldest old is rising. The over 85s is now the fastest growing age group in most countries.
(4) Chronic noncommunicable diseases are the major cause of death for older people in both more developed and less developed countries.
(5) While world population is aging at an unprecedented rate, the total population in some countries is also declining.
(6) As people live longer and have fewer children, they have fewer options for care as family structures change.
(7) Fewer workers and more pensioners living longer is causing significant strain on health and pensions.
(8) Increasing numbers of countries are wondering whether escalating cost of social insurance is sustainable.
(9) Aging populations are dramatically changing the landscape of social entitlements, labour supply, trade, and savings around the world causing unprecedented pressure on fiscal systems.
Dementia is a degenerative brain disorder that seriously impairs a person’s ability to do normal every day things. The most common form among older people is Alzheimer’s disease, which starts to affect thought, memory, and language.
People with Alzheimer’s disease develop abnormal clumps (called amyloid plaques) and tangled bundles of fibres (called neurofibrillary tangles) in their brain tissue.
The exact cause of Alzheimer’s is unknown, and there is currently no cure, though as the Alzheimer’s Association report says, drugs are currently being tested that promise to delay the progress of the disease.
Click here for Alzheimer’s Association (US).
Written by: Catharine Paddock
Writer: Medical News Today