Alzheimer’s Disease 101: What You Need to Know to Be Prepared
(Updated November 2021) November is Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month.
In 1983, then-President Ronald Reagan made November the designated month for National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month. Then fewer than 2 million Americans were diagnosed with this devastating illness that then and now destroys the lives of the people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and the families who love and care for them. The impact is physically, emotionally, and financially draining on many levels. This cruel disease robs a sufferer of their personality, thinking skills, and memories until the person they were no longer exists.
Who is Impacted by Alzheimer’s Disease?
The estimated number of American’s living with an Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) diagnosis is 6.2 million aged 65 or older. Current projections estimate that by 2050, 12.7 million 65 plus-year-old Americans will have Alzheimer’s. These numbers only account for doctor-diagnosed patients. The reality is that more older Americans may have early stages of Alzheimer’s Disease while just existing amidst their family system without proper medical diagnosis and care.
Currently, Alzheimer’s Disease ranks as the sixth leading cause of all US deaths and is the most common form of dementia, with a range of 60 to 80 percent of all diagnosed dementia cases. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Alzheimer’s and other dementia deaths have increased by 16 percent. While there is no known cure for AD, there are lifestyles you can adopt and other steps to take that may help reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s Disease.
Eating a healthy, well-balanced diet and maintaining a healthy body mass index (BMI) along with regular exercise is a great place to start. Limiting alcohol consumption and ultimately giving up smoking will also benefit your cognitive skills and promote a healthy, aging brain. Regular visits to your doctor to keep your blood pressure in check and receive cognitive assessments can also lower the risk of developing Alzheimer’s Disease.
What Preventative Measure Can be Taken?
Maintaining meaningful relationships with friends to keep you feeling valued, connected, and at ease while living in an environment with purposeful activities and group excursions is also beneficial. Oral health and good gut bacteria can promote healthy long-term brain aging, so keep up with your routine dental and general physical exams. Healthy doses of caffeine may also delay memory decline but be sure it does not interfere with a healthy sleep pattern, blood pressure, or any medications you may take.
During the campaign for AD Awareness, you may participate in a memory walk or sponsor someone who does. Thousands of caring individuals come together to raise funds to both support the care of patients and the research for a cure. Or you may directly donate money to research organizations and foundations that seek to understand AD and aim to develop new medications that can slow the effects of the disease if not find a cure.
Many people are now seeking out screening programs like the National Memory Screening Program, permitting you to answer a list of questions that may help you recognize if you or a loved one display symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease. The series of questions will measure your thinking ability, language skills, and intellectual functions. While your doctor must thoroughly evaluate you for a proper AD diagnosis, this screening test is free. It can give you an idea if you have problem areas in your cognitive abilities.
Risk factors for Alzheimer’s include age, lifestyle, genetics, and family history, with age being the most significant risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer’s. The percentage of people living with Alzheimer’s increases dramatically with age, and although the disease is becoming commonplace, it is not a normal part of aging. Sadly, even without a family history of Alzheimer’s Disease, you may still develop the disease.
Many cases of Alzheimer’s dementia often go underdiagnosed or unreported. Many Americans live with AD, whether receiving a doctor’s diagnosis or not, costing the sufferer, their family, and the US medical system. Absent a cure, by 2050, projected out-of-pocket costs in the US for healthcare, long-term care, and hospice care for Alzheimer’s and other forms of people living with dementia will reach 1.1 trillion dollars.
Alzheimer’s is by far the most expensive disease with which Americans must contend. The research community is hopeful that preventative measures or even ways to slow brain degeneration are achievable within the next ten years. Yet federal research funding is a fraction of the monies spent on other major diseases. That is why it is essential to educate yourself and plan for the possibility that Alzheimer’s Disease will directly affect you or a loved one in the near term.
UsAgainstAlheimer’sFinding a cure, preventing, and developing therapeutics to slow the onset of Alzheimer’s Disease is of the utmost importance. November is a great month to become educated and involved in understanding just how severe and widespread this disease continues to be and what you might do to better the chances that you and your family remain healthy.
Caregivers if you have a parent who is showing early signs of Alzheimer’s or is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, you need to act now to ensure that their legal affairs are in order. At McDonald Law Firm, we can assist you and your parent in preparing the proper legal documents to ensure that your parent’s medical and financial affairs are taken care of when they are incapable of acting on their own behalf. To schedule a no obligation consultation today, call Andre O. McDonald, a knowledgeable Howard County, Montgomery County and District of Columbia estate planning, special-needs planning, veterans pension planning and Medicaid planning attorney, at (443) 741-1088; (301) 941-7809 or (202) 640-2133.
DISCLAIMER: THE INFORMATION POSTED ON THIS BLOG IS INTENDED FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT INTENDED TO CONVEY LEGAL, INSURANCE OR TAX ADVICE.
