Ride For Alzheimer's - Connecticut Alzheimer's Disease Facts

Connecticut Alzheimer's Disease Facts

Alzheimer's disease is a progressive degenerative neurological disease that attacks the brain, eventually killing the patient. Persons suffering from ALzheimer's disease may experience confusion, memory loss, personality and behavior changes, impaired judgement, and difficulty finding words, finishing thoughts, or following directions. Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia.

Over 5 million Americans and over 100,000 Connecticut residents have Alzheimer's disease.
Connecticut's population of 65+ individuals is 14.3 percent, or 470,000 people. This places the state ninth overall in senior population. One in ten persons over 65 and one in two over 85 have Alzheimer's disease.
14 million Americans will have Alzheimer's disease by the year 2050 unless medical science finds a way to prevent the disease or halt its progress.
Scientists have learned that the disease process begins as much as 30 to 40 years before symptoms appear.
The cause of Alzheimer's disease is unknown; there is no cure at present.
From onset of symptoms, Alzheimer's disease can last three to twenty years or more. It always ends in death.
On in three families from all ethnic and socio-economic groups is coping with the emotional, physical and financial impact of Alzheimer's disease.
Over 70 percent of persons with Alzheimer's disease or a related disorder are cared for at home, the vast majority by unpaid family and friends.
More than half of all nursing home patients have Alzheimer's disease or a related disorder. The average annual private-pay cost for nursing home care in Connecticut is now over $84,000.
Alzheimer's disease costs society approximately $100 billion a year. The aggregate cost of caregiving to US businesses is conservatively estimated to be $33.16 billion due to lost productivity through employee absenteeism and turnover, and health and long-term care insurance.

For more information, call 860-887-3593
CT Alzheimer's Association East Region Program Coordinator, Norwich, CT

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