Join the Cause

2. More than half of the 5.4 million Americans with the disease may not know they have it.

In part because of the difficulty with detecting early-stage Alzheimer’s or mild cognitive impairment (MCI), many with the disease remain undiagnosed. With research and time, our ability to detect early-stage Alzheimer’s continues to improve, though it will increase the overall number of people known to have the disease.

3. More women have Alzheimer’s.

Nearly two-thirds of Americans suffering from Alzheimer’s are women. However, it is important to note that this does not mean there is a gender-based predisposition for the disease; the primary reason for this statistic is that women generally live longer than men.

4. Symptoms of the disease can develop in people as young as age 30.

We may think of Alzheimer’s as a disease of the elderly, but up to 5% of Americans with Alzheimer’s (around 200,000) have the early-onset variety, which can start to show symptoms as early as one’s 30s. Though the cause still isn’t well understood, some of these cases have a genetic component.

5. The incidence of Alzheimer’s will increase to every 33 seconds by 2050.

The rate at which Alzheimer’s occurs — every 65 seconds in the U.S. — is projected to double by 2050 because of the growing population of people over age 65. As the population ages, the likelihood of Alzheimer’s increases with more advanced age.

6. Alzheimer’s is the 6th-leading cause of death in the U.S.

Alzheimer’s is becoming a more common cause of death as the populations of the U.S. and other countries age. In part, this is because we are experiencing more success in reducing the rate of death from other causes such as heart disease, while the rate of death from Alzheimer’s continues to increase.

7. There are over 16 million Americans caring for someone with Alzheimer’s or dementia.

Family caregivers of Alzheimer’s patients provide a whopping 80% of the care at home, while a mere 10% of seniors receive all their care from paid health professionals. Almost 70% of those caregivers are women.

8. There is an increased likelihood of depression, emotional stress, and financial problems among caregivers for those with the disease.

The communication difficulties and personality changes of Alzheimer’s can place an incredible strain on caregivers. The close relationship between the caregiver and the impaired person — a relationship involving shared emotions, experiences and memories — may particularly place caregivers at risk for psychological and physical illness..

9. The total cost of health and long-term care services for Alzheimer’s is $277 billion.

Over $102 billion of that amount was paid out of pocket. About $175 billion, or roughly 70% of the total costs was paid by Medicare and Medicaid.

10. There are an estimated 800,000 Americans with the disease living alone.

As many as 15% of people with the disease still live alone. Many of those have no identified caregiver, a situation which puts them at greater risk of medical emergencies, poor self-care, social isolation, homelessness, and a range of other issues.