SLFP.com - Community Health News and Information

slfp.com
Community Info
Health News

The Community Information Guide provides the latest news, upcoming events and local city directories.

How To Reach Us:
St. Louis Front Page
Community News
P.O. Box 1354
St. Louis, MO 63188
http://www.slfp.com

Voice: 314-771-0200
Fax: 314-771-0300

To submit news, contact:
editor@slfp.com

New Report Estimates 10 Million Baby Boomers Will Develop Alzheimer's Disease in the United States
ST. LOUIS (SLFP.com), March 23, 2008 - The Alzheimer's Association® estimates that 10 million baby boomers will develop Alzheimers disease in the United States, according to their new report, 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.

"The 2008 Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures shows the tremendous impact this disease is having in Missouri and nationwide. With 110,000 people with Alzheimer's disease living in Missouri today, now is the time to develop an effective blueprint to deal with this disease," said Joan D'Ambrose, St. Louis chapter president.

Today, as many as 5.2 million Americans are living with Alzheimer's disease, the seventh leading cause of death in the country and the fifth leading cause of death for those over age 65. The Association's report 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.
By 2010, there will be almost a half million new cases of Alzheimer's disease a year; and by 2050, there will be almost a million new cases each year.
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.

The report highlights that last year, in Missouri alone there were nearly 180,000 caregivers, providing more than 150 million hours of unpaid care for a loved one with Alzheimer's or another dementia valued at more than $1.6 billion dollars. 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. An additional quarter of a million Alzheimer caregivers were children age 8 to 18.

With seventy percent of people with Alzheimer's and other dementias living at home where friends and family take care of them, the disease not only touches the individual but entire families.

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.

"It is more important than ever that research funding be increased to find effective treatments that delay the progression of the disease. The Alzheimer's Association continues to be vigilant in offering support to individuals living with the disease as well as the 180,000 Alzheimer caregivers in this state who are grappling with the tremendous challenges an Alzheimer's diagnosis brings to one's doorstep," said Carroll Rodriguez, public policy director for St. Louis chapter.

The SLFP.com - Community Info is presented in conjunction with the St. Louis Front Page and Southwest Illinois News. The sites are owned and maintained by the Moore Design Group for the sole purpose of disseminating news and information about the Metropolitan St. Louis area. Text or graphics may not be copied, rewritten or distributed in any manner whatsoever without written permission. For more information, contact editor@slfp.com All rights reserved world wide © 1996 - 2008 Moore Design Group .