Alzheimer’s disease cases are expected to increase by one-third in Texas by 2025, according to the 2013 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts & Figures report.
That translates from an estimated 350,000 cases today to about 470,000 in the next 12 years in Texas, and nearly a 75 percent increase over the number of cases in 2000.
RAND researchers estimated direct medical costs of treating dementia totaled $109 billion in 2010, which was more money than was spent on heart disease or cancer care. By 2020, dementia patients will account for about 10 percent of the elderly, but will comprise 17 percent of Medicare and Medicaid costs devoted to the elderly.
The cost of the disease per patient is nearly $57,000, the majority of which is paid for by families. The rest is covered mostly by Medicare and Medicaid. Medicare costs are nearly three times higher for seniors with dementia, compared with those without cognitive impairment.
One out of 3 U.S. seniors dies with Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia. Dying with Alzheimer’s disease differs from dying of it. Dementia can speed an individual’s decline by interfering with care of other chronic conditions. They are more likely to be hospitalized and less adherent to prescribed medications.
Only 30 percent of 70-year-olds who do not have Alzheimer’s are expected to die before their 80th birthday. However, of those who have dementia, 61 percent are expected to die, according to the report.
More than half of those with dementia in nursing homes have moderate to severe cases.
While deaths from other major diseases, such as heart disease, HIV/AIDS continue to decline, age-adjusted Alzheimer deaths rose by nearly 40 percent between 2000 and 2010, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
Dementia is especially hard on caregivers. In Texas, 1.3 million caregivers were providing 1.5 billion hours of unpaid care valued at $18.2 billion, according to the Alzheimer’s report. It found that nearly 15 percent of caregivers for Alzheimer’s patients live at least one hour away. Their annual out-of-pocket costs of $9,654 are nearly double those of local caregivers.
Debra Adams, vice president of programs and services for the Alzheimer’s Association of Greater Dallas, said the organization has been increasing the available online tools for long-distance caregivers and websites that create virtual communities built around specific needs.
Adams said, “This is Important for the upcoming generation. That’s where they go for their resources. Our Alzheimer’s Navigator helps identify the needs of long-distance caregivers and where they can find support.”
In 2012, the Obama administration set a goal of finding effective Alzheimer’s treatments by 2025, and boosted funding to accomplish that.
Mary Quiceno, MD, is an Alzheimer’s Association of Greater Dallas board member and a neurologist at UT Southwestern who specializes in treating Alzheimer’s and dementia patients. She said the last decade has been “the most exciting time” in Alzheimer’s research.
“We now have a lot of tools to diagnose the disease earlier, and we are able to get better outcomes with newer drugs. If we find people earlier we can slow the progression of the disease,” she said.
Quiceno said UT Southwestern professor Roger Rosenberg is involved in research that potentially could lead to a vaccine that could prevent Alzheimer’s. She said vaccine trials are under way in South America.
Relatives of people with Alzheimer’s disease are more than twice as likely to develop the condition, compared with those who do not have a family history of the disease. Researchers believe the vaccine could be effective especially on this targeted group.
Steve Jacob is editor of D Healthcare Daily and author of the book Health Care in 2020: Where Uncertain Reform, Bad Habits, Too Few Doctors and Skyrocketing Costs Are Taking Us. He can be reached at [email protected].
