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State-by-state look at Alzheimer's growth
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Image from the Alzheimer's Association
If you're a Baby Boomer living in Washington and Oregon or Nevada and Utah, you have a much higher risk of acquiring Alzheimer's than you do if you live in Pennsylvania and Michigan or Illinois and Massachusetts.
A state-by-state breakdown of the potential for the growth of Alzheimer's among the population was contained within a report from the Alzheimer's Association that has received so much attention this week.
The Alzheimer's Association released a report -- "2009 Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures" -- saying, "Total healthcare costs are more than three times higher for people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias than for other people age 65 and older."
The report focused on the Baby Boomer population and how its sheer size and the likely fact that they'll live longer than previous generations as reasons for an expected leap in the number of Alzheimer's cases by 2025.
“With the country facing unprecedented economic challenges and a rapidly aging baby boomer population, now is the time to address the burgeoning Alzheimer crisis that triples healthcare costs for Americans age 65 and over,” Harry Johns, Alzheimer’s Association CEO, said in a statement.
He added: "With the first baby boomers turning age 65 in just two short years – and entering the arena of increasing risk for developing Alzheimer’s – an aggressive plan is needed now to address the threat of this disease. There are too many lives, too little time and too much at stake for anything less.”
But contained within the details of the report is a projection of where the increases will be and where the rise in the number of Alzheimer's cases will be more dramatic than others.
The association projected the percentage increases by state between 2000 and 2025.
Expected increases of between 81.1 and 127 percent:
- Alaska
- Washington
- Oregon
- Idaho
- Montana
- Wyoming
- Nevada
- Utah
- Colorado
Expected increases of between 49.1 and 81 percent:
- California
- Arizona
- New Mexico
- Texas
- Oklahoma
- Florida
- South Carolina
- North Carolina
- Virginia
Expected increases of between 31.1 and 49 percent:
- Nebraska
- Hawaii
- New Hampshire
- Kentucky
- Tennessee
- Arkansas
- Louisiana
- Alabama
- Georgia
Expected increases of between 24.1 and 31 percent:
- North Dakota
- South Dakota
- Minnesota
- Wisconsin
- Indiana
- Ohio
- Mississippi
- Vermont
- Maryland
- Delaware
- West Virginia
Expected increases of between 0 and 24 percent:
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- Rhode Island
- Connecticut
- New York
- Pennsylvania
- Michigan
- New Jersey
- Illinois
- Iowa
The association's explanation has to do with population distribution and the average age of the population.
"Although the projected increases in the Northeast are not nearly as marked as those in other regions of the United States, it should be noted that this section of the country is
the residence of a large proportion of people aged 65 and older with Alzheimer’s," said the report.
But the report did want its readers to take special note of the states where the percentage increase is expected to exceed 80 percent.
"The increased numbers of people with Alzheimer’s will have a marked impact on states’ infrastructures and healthcare systems, not to mention on families and caregivers," said the report.
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