2013 Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures

We often hear friends talking about neighbors, parents or grandparents who are growing a little forgetful. But, just as likely, we listen to anecdotes about someone who was as sharp as a tack until the day he or she died.

The truth is that the memory-wracking disease of Alzheimer’s is not a normal part of the aging process. We shouldn't expect a lifetime worth of recollections and family connections to gradually disappear as we age.

Yet, a report issued last month by the Alzheimer’s Association found that one in three seniors in America has Alzheimer’s or another dementia when they die. That doesn't mean a third of deaths are caused by Alzheimer’s, but it most certainly means that those loved ones lost a huge part of what made them who they were before they died.

What’s more, according to 2013 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts & Figures, while deaths caused by other major diseases are declining in America, deaths attributed to Alzheimer’s continue to rise – up 68 percent nationwide from 2000-2010. Alzheimer’s is the only leading cause of death in America without a way to prevent, cure or even slow its progression.

In addition to the memory loss, broken human connections and personality changes faced by families dealing with Alzheimer’s, there are enormous – almost unthinkable – expenses associated with the disease. And not all those costs are borne by the health care system and Medicare or Medicaid. Ohioans provided an estimated $8.2 million in unpaid care to loved ones with Alzheimer’s in 2012, and had to cover an estimated $361 million in additional healthcare costs of their own due to the physical and emotional toll of caregiving.

Many of those who take care of Alzheimer’s patients do so from a distance. 2013 Facts & Figures found that nearly 15 percent of caregivers for people with Alzheimer’s or another dementia live an hour or more away. And their out-of-pocket costs are nearly twice as high as those of local caregivers.

So, if Alzheimer’s isn't a normal part of aging, yet both incidences of the disease and associated financial and personal costs are skyrocketing, what does that mean?

From my perspective – and, I suspect, from the perspective of every one of the 230,000 Ohioans with Alzheimer’s – it means we have to do more to find, and fight, the underlying causes of Alzheimer’s, and to support those dealing with the disease.

We've made some progress in recent years. Congress passed the National Alzheimer’s Project Act, a comprehensive plan for attacking the disease and creating a basis for new resources. Ohio advocates were also successful in getting the Adult Guardianship and Protective Proceedings Jurisdiction Act signed into law. And there is progress every year on promising research.

The Cleveland Area Chapter provides numerous free services and programs for individuals with memory loss, Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias and their caregivers These services include support groups, care consultation, educational programs, a 24-hour Helpline (800-272-3900), the MedicAlert/Safe Return Program and online resources such as ALZConnected™ and ALZNavigator™.

We also help people with the disease, caregivers and healthy volunteers find Alzheimer’s –related clinical trials through our free service, Alzheimer’s Association TrialMatch®.

The Alzheimer’s Association is the largest private funder of Alzheimer’s research in the world, providing significant funding for Alzheimer’s research right here in the Cleveland area.

Virtually every dollar of these funds is donated by generous supporters of the Alzheimer’s Association, here in Northeast Ohio and across the nation. Many of our donors have a personal connection to the disease, and want their children and grandchildren to grow up in a world without Alzheimer’s.   That’s our vision and our goal.

As our chapter holds fundraising events throughout the region, we hope you will join us.  The end of Alzheimer’s starts here.

Nancy Udelson is executive director of the Alzheimer’s Association Cleveland Area Chapter, www.alz.org/cleveland.