Bringing Awareness to Alzheimer’s and Other Dementias
What is Active’s Purple Tuesday?
Did you know that every 65 seconds someone in the United States develops Alzheimer’s Disease? Stop and let that sink in! That amounts to 55 people every hour, 1,329 people every day and 485,169 people every year. Despite these growing numbers, there are still no successful treatments to cure or even slow the progression of this disease. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, Alzheimer’s and other dementias “kill more people than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined.” Ultimately, a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease will be fatal as the brain loses the ability to function over time.
”Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family.
Kofi Annan
1 in 3 seniors die with Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia.
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia and accounts for 60% to 80% of all cases.
More than 1 in 9 people aged 65 and older has Alzheimer’s dementia.
Alzheimer’s disease is thought to begin 20 years or more before symptoms arise.
Symptoms begin to occur when the brain can no longer compensate for the damage and death of nerve cells caused by Alzheimer’s disease.
Fewer than 50% of patients being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease are aware of the diagnosis.
Alzheimer’s disease is ultimately fatal.
Vascular dementia is the second most common cause of dementia. This type of dementia is caused by the effects of oxygen loss to the brain.
The lifetime cost of care for a person with Alzheimer’s disease is twice the amount compared to people without Alzheimer’s.
Vascular dementia symptoms and effects are varied as it depends on the location, number, and size of the brain injuries.
There are hundreds of different types of dementias.
Dementia refers to a group of symptoms associated with a decline in memory, reasoning, or other thinking skills.
Dementia refers to a group of symptoms associated with a decline in memory, reasoning, or other thinking skills.
82% of patients with Alzheimer’s also have at least one other cause of dementia.
There is no single test for dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease.
Age is the greatest risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease. 5.3% of patients with Alzheimer’s are between 65 to 74, 13.8% between 75 to 84, and 34.6% are older than 85.
There are currently no medications that have been proven to stop or slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
Several genes have been associated with a greater risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
The e4 variant of APOE gene has been shown to have a 12x greater risk of Alzheimer’s Disease.
Consuming a heart-healthy diet may be associated with a lower risk of dementia.
There were an estimated 6.2 million Americans age 65 and older living with Alzheimer’s dementia in 2021.
Some research has shown that building a “cognitive reserve”, the ability to continue to make efficient use of neurons despite brain changes, may decrease your risk of dementia.
Some ways to build up cognitive reserve include getting a formal education, having a mentally stimulating job, and participating in other mentally stimulating activities.
Between 2020 and 2025, every state across the country is projected to see an increase of at least 7% in the number of patients with Alzheimer’s.
Out of pocket spending by patients and their families is estimated to be $76 billion in 2021.
Biomarkers occur in the earliest stages of Alzheimer’s disease but more research and fine-tuning needs to be done before they become available for widespread use.
The annual number of new cases of Alzheimer’s and other dementias is expected to double by 2050.
Alzheimer’s is a leading cause of disability and poor health in older adults.
In 2019, about 272,000 deaths had some form of dementia listed as the primary cause of death.
Between 2000 and 2019, the number of deaths from Alzheimer’s has more than doubled, while deaths from heart disease have decreased 7.3%.
An estimated 66% of people who die from dementia do so in a nursing home, compared with 20% of people with cancer.
Family members and friends provided nearly $257 billion in unpaid care to people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias in 2020. That is 12 times the revenue of McDonalds in 2019 ($21.1 billion).
The total cost of providing care for people living with Alzheimer’s and other dementias is estimated to be $612 billion in 2021.
Adults aged 65 or older with Alzheimer’s or other dementia will be hospitalized 2x more than those without Alzheimer’s or other dementia.
People with Alzheimer’s or other dementias are 4 times more likely to stay in a skilled nursing facility.
25% of adults age 65 or older with Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia have at least one home health visit compared to 10% of adults age 65 or older without these conditions.
Adults over the age of 65 are almost 3x more likely to have at least 4 chronic conditions in addition to their dementia.
Dementia is the second most common diagnosis for hospice, second only to cancer.
The hallmark pathologies of Alzheimer’s disease are beta amyloid plaques outside of brain neurons and tau tangles inside neurons.
Between 2000 and 2019, the death rate increased at rates of 33% for people aged 65 to 74, 51% for people aged 75 to 84, and a staggering 78% for people over the age of 85.
A Day Filled With Purple is a Beautiful Thing!
Here at Active Home Health, Hospice & Personal Care, we believe that the more people who are aware of these diseases will improve the research being done. We dedicated every Tuesday as “Purple Tuesday” to increase awareness of and education on Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. Every Tuesday all of our staff wears purple to drive awareness. In addition, we help spread the word by sharing statistics, tips and sponsoring local events. Check out some examples below.
Join us by wearing purple every Tuesday and by following us on social media to learn how you can help. Remember, separate we might be few, but together, anything is possible. Go Purple Power!
Even in the face of these daunting numbers, there is still hope!
We have to keep fighting for a cure. Research is continually looking for ways to slow the spread of these diseases. The National Institute on Aging is currently supporting 365 clinical trials. Efforts are being made to identify new drug mechanisms as well as non-drug interventions like exercise and cognitive training. Research is even looking into different care and caregiving interventions.
72
Trials
Pharmacological Interventions
120
Trials
Non-pharmacological Interventions
155
Trials
Dementia Care & Caregiving Interventions
Ready to Make a Difference?
Here at Active Home Health, Hospice & Personal Care, we know that simple actions lead to big changes. For us, wearing purple increases our hope for the future of Alzheimer’s and other dementias. In the meantime, Active Home Health, Hospice & Personal Care is here to help. For those of you currently fighting this disease, contact us today and see how we can ease the burden.