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Alzheimer’s Disease Alzheimer’s Disease Who is Affected?Who is Affected?

Presented by

Maria C. Carrillo, Ph.D.Alzheimer’s Association

December 2010

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Our challenge is urgent…

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and global

Somewhere in the world, someone develops Alzheimer’s every 7 seconds

Lancet. Dec. 2005

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Epidemic• Alzheimer’s is an epidemic. More than half of all

Americans now know someone with Alzheimer’s.

• Almost 30% of Americans have a family member with the disease.

• To know Alzheimer’s is to fear it.

• 9 out of ten Americans who know someone with Alzheimer’s are concerned that they or someone close to them will one day develop the fatal disease.

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US Numbers• Today there are 5.3 million people living with Alzheimer’s

disease. 5.1 million are age 65 and older and 200,000 are under age 65 and have younger-onset Alzheimer’s disease.

• Every 70 seconds someone develops Alzheimer’s disease and by 2050 someone will develop the disease every 33 seconds.

• In 2011, baby boomers begin turning 65.• 78.2M baby boomers (’46-’64)

• Ten million baby boomers will develop Alzheimer’s disease in the United States (1 out of 8).

Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures 2010

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Alzheimer’s is About Families

• Almost 11 million Americans are caring for a person with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.

• In 2009, these unpaid Alzheimer and dementia caregivers provided 12.5 billion hours of care valued at $144 billion – more than the federal government spends on Medicare and Medicaid combined for people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias.

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Alzheimer's Is One of the Most Costly Conditions

• Reasons:

• Duration: Average case lasts 4-6 years after diagnosis and can last long as 20 years

• Care: Those with Alzheimer’s require extensive care; half of those in nursing homes are estimated to have dementia

• Complications: Most people with Alzheimer’s have one or more other serious medical condition

• Results:

• Medicare payments are 3x higher for beneficiaries with Alzheimer’s disease

• Medicaid payments are 9x higher for beneficiaries with Alzheimer’s disease

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Although whites make up the great majority of the more than 5 million people with Alzheimer’s disease, African-Americans and Hispanics are at higher risk.

• African-Americans are about two times more likely than whites to have Alzheimer’s and dementia.

• Hispanics are about one and one-half times more likely than whites to have Alzheimer’s and dementia.

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High Blood Pressure and Diabetes

• High blood pressure and diabetes are known risk factors for Alzheimer’s and other dementias among all groups.

• High blood pressure and diabetes are more prevalent in the African-American community; diabetes is more prevalent in the Hispanic community. These conditions probably contribute to the greater prevalence of Alzheimer’s and dementia among these groups.

• Better management of these conditions may help reduce Alzheimer and dementia risk among African-Americans and Hispanics.

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Under diagnosis of Alzheimer’s and DementiaAmong African-Americans and Hispanics

• Although the rate of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia in African-Americans and Hispanics is higher than in whites, they are less likely than whites to have a diagnosis of the condition.

• Delays in diagnosis mean that African-Americans and Hispanics are not getting treatments early when available medications are more likely to be effective and they have less opportunity to make legal, financial and care plans while they are still capable.

• RESULTING IN MORE COSTLY CARE!

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Alzheimer’s Association “Hispanic Perceptions of

Alzheimer’s Disease”

Funded by MetLife Foundation

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Survey Methodology• Surveys were conducted via telephone and online by Decision Analyst, Inc.,

a partner of Focus Latino, on behalf of the Alzheimer’s Association.

• 872 interviews were obtained July 26 through August 18, 2010.

– Online:566

– Telephone: 306

• Respondents:

– Hispanic/Latino males and females aged 25 or older (60% of Mexican origin)• Male (n=325) / 37%• Female (n=547) / 63%

– Age 65+ (n=113) / 13%• If younger than 65, also screened for a parent or close family member who was aged

50 or older

• In reporting results, statistical testing was performed at the 95% confidence

level.

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Executive Summary• Most Hispanics feel that awareness of Alzheimer’s disease is low in

the Latino community. Most also feel that their personal awareness of the disease is only “somewhat” or “not very” knowledgeable.

• Most Hispanics are interested in learning more about Alzheimer’s disease.

• The topics that would generate the most interest are the signs and symptoms, treatment and how the disease progresses.

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Perceptions Of Alzheimer’s Disease• Only a third of Hispanics think of Alzheimer’s when they

hear the word “dementia,” even though Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia.

• Almost all Hispanics realize that Alzheimer’s is progressive, but only about half realize it is fatal.

• Virtually all Hispanics felt it was important to know the warning signs of Alzheimer’s to get help and the maximum benefit from treatments.– Despite the importance placed on this knowledge, most

did not feel that the Latino community was very aware of Alzheimer’s.

• Of the 10 Warning Signs of Alzheimer’s, only five were recognized by the majority of Hispanics. Relatively few recognized that withdrawal from activities could be a warning sign.

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Alzheimer’s Awareness Among The Latino Community

Q: In your opinion, what is the awareness level of Alzheimer’s disease in the Latino community?

Do you think people are…?

Total Respondents

4%

30%

53%

11%

Very Aware

SomewhatAware

Not Very Aware

Not At AllAware

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Personal Knowledge Of Alzheimer’s

Q: How knowledgeable would you say you, personally, are about of Alzheimer's?

Would you say you are…?

Total Respondents

6%

39%

40%

14%

VeryKnowledgeable

SomewhatKnowledgeable

Not VeryKnowledgeable

NotKnowledgeable

At All

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Belief That Alzheimer’s Is Progressive And Fatal

Percent “Yes” Alzheimer’s Is Fatal

Q: Do you think Alzheimer’s is a progressive brain disease that causes memory loss and

problems with thinking and behavior?

Q: Do you think Alzheimer’s is fatal?

93% 53%

Percent “Yes” Alzheimer’s Is a Progressive Brain Disease That Causes Memory Loss

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Importance Of Knowing The Signs Of Alzheimer’s

Q: How important do you feel it is to know about the signs of Alzheimer's?

Total Respondents

73%

22%

3%

1%

1%

SomewhatImportant

NeitherImportant NorUnimportant

SomewhatUnimportant

VeryUnimportant

VeryImportant

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Birth Country & Length Of Time In U.S.

Q: What country were you born in?Q: How many years have you been living in the United States?

9%

25%

24%

16%

19%

6%

1%

1 to 10

11 to 20

21 to 30

31 to 40

41 to 50

51 to 60

61 or more

Average # Of Years = 30

Birth CountryBase: Total Respondents (n=872)

Years Lived In U.S.Base: Born In Country Other Than U.S.

(n=460)

47%

32%

7%

6%

8%

United States

Mexico

Puerto Rico

Cuba

Other

Total Respondents

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A Report by Maria Shriver and the Alzheimer’s Association

October, 2010

Alzheimer’s Disease and Women

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• Women are at the epicenter of the Alzheimer epidemic.

• Nearly 10 million American women either have Alzheimer’s or are caring for someone with the disease.– Two-thirds of the people who have

Alzheimer’s — 3.3 million — are women. – Sixty percent of Alzheimer caregivers — 6.7

million — are women.

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• Women are nearly half of all workers, and mothers are the primary breadwinners or co-breadwinners in two-thirds of American families. (The Shriver Report: A Woman’s Nation Changes Everything)

• America is now a nation of women breadwinners who are raising the next generation as they care for the last generation.

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• Four out of ten caregivers say they had no choice in becoming caregivers.

• 6 of 10 women became caregivers because they lack other family to do it.

• 40% of women became caregivers because they were the only females in their families.

• Roughly a quarter of women caregivers promise to keep their loved ones out of an institution.

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Research Investment is RequiredDespite the current under recognition of Alzheimer’s disease as a cause of death, it was still the 6th* leading cause of death among all Americans in 2006 – virtually tied with diabetes. It was the 5th leading cause of death for individuals age 65 or older.

*Updated May 20, 2010 – National Center for Health Statistics

For every $25,000 the government spends on care for people with Alzheimer’s and dementia, it spends only $100 for Alzheimer research.

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From 2000-2007, Alzheimer’s Disease DeathsIncreased 50.6% while …

Deaths by:

HIV – declined 22.0%

Stroke – declined 18.9%

Heart Disease – declined 13.3%

Prostate Cancer – declined 6.4%

Breast Cancer – declined 3.1%

*Updated May 20, 2010 by the National Center for Health Statistics

Alzheimer’s

Disease

HIV

Stroke

Heart D

iseaseProstate CancerBreast Cancer

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Emerging research could usher in a new era of disease-modifying treatments

Approximately 90 experimental therapies aimed at slowing or stopping the progression of Alzheimer’s are in clinical testing in human volunteers.

There are 4 drugs in Phase III clinical development and more than 30 drugs in Phase II clinical trials.

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Alzheimer’s Disease Epidemic

• We must invest in research to find a way to stop or slow this devastating disease.

• Alzheimer’s has no cure, but there is hope. Advances in early diagnosis tools like biomarkers from spinal taps and MRIs may give us an opportunity to develop treatments that could delay onset, slow or stop the progression of Alzheimer’s.