CHICAGO, Ill. — The Chicago-based Alzheimer’s Association released new statistics Monday on how Alzheimer’s is impacting each state.
According to the organization, Idaho has nearly 30,000 residents over the age of 65 living with the disease, which totals about 10% of the population over 65.
Only 20 doctors who specialize in the care of the elderly population, known as geriatricians, operated in the entire state, as of 2021.
The Alzheimer’s Association reports that number of geriatricians needs to increase by 305% by the year 2050 to meet the growing demand.
Similarly, the number of home health and personal care aides must increase by nearly 30% by the year 2023 in Idaho, as more aging adults are diagnosed with the disease.
As of 2020, the number of adults over 65 in Washington living with Alzheimer’s Disease sat at nearly 127,000, or about 10% of the over-65 population.
Washington fared better than Idaho, in terms of care availability for those living with the disease.
There were 180 geriatricians working in the state as of 2021, which needs to increase by about 68% by the year 2050 to meet the demand of the growing Alzheimer’s population.
About 66,000 home health and personal care aids were recorded in 2022 in Washington, which should increase by a little over 14% to meet the demand by 2032.
“We are in the era of the silver tsunami with the aging population having the highest amount of Alzheimer’s and dementia yet. We can’t keep up. There is such a desperate need for more support for our seniors. Alzheimer’s is not backing down. If these numbers show us anything, it’s only going to increase, and rapidly. The Alzheimer’s Association is working tirelessly to bring awareness and education to the public. This disease has kept so many isolated and families dealing with it behind closed doors. This is an epidemic and we need to be at the forefront. It’s not just impacting those living with the disease, but the loved ones and caregivers who are supporting them. The numbers speak for themselves,” Jordan Hunter of the Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho chapters of the Alzheimer’s Association told KXLY Tuesday.
The Alzheimer’s Association reports that more than 7 million Americans are living with the disease, and nearly 12 million provide their unpaid care.
This year, the estimated cost of caring for those with Alzheimer’s is about $384 billion nationwide.
There is another cost associated with Alzheimer’s that doesn’t involve standard currency.
According to the Association, 61% of caregivers have chronic health conditions themselves in Washington, and nearly 40% are living with depression.
In Idaho, 64% of caregivers have chronic health conditions, and 30% are experiencing depression.
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia in the U.S.
It can begin to develop 20 years or more before memory loss and other symptoms present themselves.
In Alzheimer’s, nerve cells of the brain, or neurons, are damaged and destroyed.
The first neurons to become impacted are responsible for memory, language and thinking.
Symptoms that soon follow include changes in mood, personality or behavior, and increased suspicion and fear.
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