Alzheimer's 'epidemic' grows as 15 million Americans now care for loved ones | Mail Online

Alzheimer's 'epidemic' grows as 15 million Americans now care for loved ones with dementia

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 5:57 PM on 15th March 2011

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Dementia among elderly people in the U.S. is a growing burden on relatives and will become an 'epidemic', experts say.

Almost 15 million Americans look after loved ones with Alzheimer's or another dementia form, which totals 17 billion hours and more than $200billion in unpaid care.

There are so many U.S. carers looking after their parents or other relatives that they could form the nation’s fifth-largest state, reported the Alzheimer's Association.

Growing problem: 15 million Americans look after loved ones with Alzheimer's or other dementia forms, totalling 17 billion hours and $200billion in unpaid care

A further 100,000 people now suffer from Alzheimer's in the U.S. on last year, with the figure now standing at 5.4million – and one in eight senior citizens.

‘Alzheimer's disease doesn't just affect those with,’ Alzheimer's Association president Harry Johns said. 'It invades families and the lives of everyone around them.'

The number of Alzheimer's and dementia carers has increased 37 per cent on 2010, but this was mostly down to last year’s figure being based on nine-year-old estimates.

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Almost two-thirds of carers say they are stressed and a third say they are depressed.

Bill Thies, Alzheimer's Association chief medical and scientific officer, said the number of unpaid carers is still staggering.

‘We are in the early stages of an epidemic and it is only going to get worse over the next four years,’ he said. ‘These costs are going to continue to grow.’

Major issue: 100,000 more people now suffer from Alzheimer's in America on last year, with the total figure standing at 5.4million - and one in eight senior citizens

Alzheimer's is a fatal brain-wasting disease that erodes memory, thinking, behaviour and the ability to handle normal activities.

It affects more than 26 million people worldwide and can last for years as it takes away a person’s mind and memory, but there are no drugs to stop it progressing.

The average 65-year-old diagnosed with Alzheimer's lives four to eight years after being diagnosed, but some patients can live up to 20 years after.

‘It's hard to take care of somebody that you love who doesn't remember who you are,’ group spokesman Beth Kallmyer said.

The $202billion unpaid care total is on top of the $183billion estimate for Alzheimer's care expected to be delivered in 2011 by healthcare workers in homes and hospitals.

This is an increase of $11billion on last year. Federal insurance programmes for the elderly and poor - Medicare and Medicaid - cover more than two-thirds of these costs.

via dailymail.co.uk