Implications of Alzheimer's Disease
Alzheimer's disease represents a huge health problem because of its significant effect on people with the disease. It takes a toll on their families who often act as caregivers. There are many financial concerns for the family as well. The health care system is burdened with Alzheimer's disease because of its direct and indirect costs, and society as a whole is greatly affected now and will be even more so in the future.
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Disease Progression
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Alzheimer's disease is a brain function problem. It is a progressive disease that affects memory, thinking skills and behavior enough to affect a person's everyday life. There is no cure. All someone with Alzheimer's disease can hope for is to slow down the progression of the disease and hold on to as many life skills as he can for as long as he can.
Symptoms
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For someone with Alzheimer's disease, more than simple lapses of memory occur. Thinking and memory problems affect communication, learning and reasoning. People with Alzheimer's disease cannot remember many things, but they also may not be able to solve problems. For example, they may not to know what to do if something on the stove is burning. Some people with Alzheimer's get angry. Some become depressed. While medications help, eventually those afflicted will become increasingly confused and unable to care for themselves.
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Family
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Caring for a loved one with Alzheimer's disease is difficult and time consuming. It is draining physically and mentally, whether the person with Alzheimer's disease lives at home or is in a long-term care facility.
If your loved one lives at home, you need to make your home safe. You will need to make the day structured. You will have to deal with difficult behaviors. You will need to change your work schedule or not work at all. You will need a support system and someone to care for your loved one if you cannot.
Often the job of care giving becomes overwhelming. Placing your loved one in a long-term care facility is difficult. You can still be involved in his care, but you can step back when you need to.
Dealing with finances and medical decisions is difficult. Going to a support group can help you deal with the situation.
Health Care
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According to the Alzheimer's Association's 2009 Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures report, total health care costs are more than three times higher for people with Alzheimer's and other dementias than for other people the same age without the disease. The number of people affected by Alzheimer's is growing. Increasing personal costs and Medicare and Medicaid costs already are having a significant impact on the world's economies and health care systems. The burden of caring for those who cannot care for themselves is growing at an alarming rate. The total annual costs per person with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias have been estimated as $1,521 in a low-income country, rising to $4,588 in middle-income countries, and $17,964 in high-income countries. These figures are reported in the April 2007 Journal of the Alzheimer's Association.
Society
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About 77 million American baby boomers are reaching the age of greatest risk. Alzheimer's disease and related dementias will impose enormous burdens on the worldwide economy. Harry Johns, President and CEO of the Alzheimer's Association, suggests that the U.S. government commit to making Alzheimer's disease a health care priority and pass the Alzheimer's Breakthrough Act of 2009. The Alzheimer's Breakthrough Act is a bipartisan piece of legislation, presented in the Senate and in the House of Representatives, which offers great promise for someday having a world without Alzheimer's disease. It funds breakthroughs in Alzheimer's disease research while providing more help to caregivers and increasing public education about prevention.
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References
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- Photo Credit Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Jim Fischer
