Research Paper Example: Statistics about Alzheimers Disorder (AD)

It is estimated that about 25 million individuals have Alzheimers disease globally and the number is predicted to triple by the year 2050. In united State alone, it is estimated that 5.5 million people are living with Alzheimers disease. (Latest Alzheimer's, 2017). 5.3 million People are aged 65 years and above while 200,000 persons are the age of 65 and the onset of the disease is still in its early stages. The prevalence is expected to increase as the average life expectancy increases although the specific incidence of the disease is decreasing in high-income nations. 10% of individuals who are 65 years and above have Alzheimers Dementia. In U.S about two third of individual with this condition are women (Latest Alzheimer's. (2017).The disease is the sixth-leading cause of death in the American among the persons who are of 65 years and is the leading cause of poor health and disability. It is the only ailment among the top 10 cause of death that cannot be prevented, cured or be slowed down. The deaths caused by other major diseases have highly decreased, but according to the official records, the deaths caused by Alzheimer have highly increased.

Between 2000 and 2014, the death from heart attack (number one cause of death) reduced by 14% while death from Alzheimer rose 89 %. Individuals who have Alzheimers diseases at the age of 70, 61% of them are expected to die below the age of 80 while folks who have no Alzheimer only 30% are expected to die below 80 years (Latest Alzheimer's, 2017). Due to the prevalence of the disease many caregivers have been working hard to combat the disease. About two third of caregivers are female, and 34% of these women are 65 years and above. About a quarter of the dementia caregivers are sandwich generation caregivers. This means that they have the responsibility of caring for their aging parent as well as for their kids who are below the age of 18 years. In 2016 alone, 16 million family and friends offered 18.3 billion hours of unpaid assistance to the Alzheimer patients while nationally U.S spend $230.2 billion on the disease (Latest Alzheimer's, 2017).

Demographic differences for the condition

The condition seems to be determinant by a different condition such as age, education level, gender and ethnic group.

Gender

Women are more likely to develop Alzheimers disease and other types of dementia than men. About 16% of women who are above 71 years develop this condition while only 11% of men are associated with this condition. Women live longer than men is one factor that can explain why many women develop the disorder, but the variation in hormones also plays a significant role in the development of the condition. According to research conducted at Mount Sinai Hospital, protein plaques and tangles that cause Alzheimers disease to start to build up at a high rate at the age of 50s for both men and women. Coincidentally, this is the same age that andropause and menopause occur hence the hormonal changes might be the ones that trigger the onset of the Alzheimer disease (Anderson, Bulatao, & Cohen, 2004).

Ethnic Group

The disease seems to be prevalence in some communities than others. Investigation of ethnic group shows that genetic factors remain the same but cultural and environmental forces might be factors that force genes to undergo dramatic changes. Studying individuals from the different racial group but living in the same environment with the same socioeconomic status can best explain the genetic factors responsible for the cause of AD. The current data shows that Black Americans are twice likely to develop the condition as compared to the whites. Hispanics are one and one-half times liable to develop AD compared to the whites. The Native Americans have a lower rate of Alzheimer disease than whites. According to Anderson, Bulatao, & Cohen (2004), Indians are 0.5 % likely to develop the condition while whites are 3.5% likely to develop the condition. A study to investigation the occurrence of the disease among the Cherokee Indians revealed that as the genetic degree of Cherokee ancestry increases, individuals were more likely to develop the Alzheimer condition. A study of 26 individuals aged 65 years and above was conducted to ascertain this with a control group of the same number of people. A genetic degree of ancestry of every participant was calculated by the help of apolipoprotein E gene present, and it found that individuals with 50% genetic Cherokee ancestry were less likely to develop AD compared to the control group.

Quality of education

In the U.S there exist extreme differences in the level of education between the whites and other minority groups. The illiteracy rate is highest among the individuals aged 65 years and above, and the number is higher among the minority group than the majority group. The existence of poor literacy skills among the elderly persons is a relevant issue for neuropsychologists trying to detect AD using cognitive measures. The year of education is an insufficient measure of educational skill among elders from various ethnic groups. It means that adjusting for quality of education can improve appropriate neuropsychological measures among different racial groups. According to Anderson, Bulatao, & Cohen (2004), when studying cognitive test score controlling educational variables should be avoided because the low level of education may be a risk element for the disease itself. Cognitive reserves explain the difference in this disorder among various ethnic groups. The lifetime experiences shown by the number of years of study or occupational level is an independent factor for the occurrence of AD and cognitive impairment. Occupational experience and educational level provide a cognitive reserve that acts against the manifestation of Alzheimer neuropathology. The brain actively copes with Alzheimer pathology through more efficient use of brain networks. The inherent ability or life experience determines the threshold of brain damage important to produce cognitive deficit (Anderson, Bulatao, & Cohen, 2004).

Alzheimer disorder

Alzheimers disease is a chronic brain disease that slowly erodes a persons intellectual ability, memory, and personality. According to a psychologist (AD) is a progressive, neurocognitive disorder characterized by language deterioration, memory loss, poor judgment, restlessness, confusion; manipulate visual information, and mood swing. It is the leading cause of dementia in the elderly because it affects areas of the brain responsible for language, thought, and memory. At the early stages, the common symptom is an inability to learn and recall new information. At later stages, the ability to speak thinks, or perform a simple task such as donning or eating is highly impaired.

Effects of AD

The physical effect includes a change in the sleeping pattern either sleeping less or more hours than usual or sleeping during the day and waking at night. Also, one is unable to fee him/herself which increase challenges with eating such difficulty swallowing. The cognition effects of the disease are short-term memory loss, distrust in other persons and inability to recall words for things used every day. The social effect of the condition is violence which is directed to others or self-directed. Also, the patient experience extreme mood swings that make it difficult for him/her to interact with others. The family member might view such a patient as a burden in their life and avoid them like the plaque. In some cases, due to the additional responsibilities that are added to the kids, married couple might end up breaking as of result of care demanded by the parent. The patient also experiences some emotional effects such as decreased ability to smile and extreme periods of anger.

Prevention of Alzheimers Disorder

One, physical exercise reduces the possibility of developing the condition by almost 50%. An individual should ensure he/she exercise for a minimum of two and half hours every week. Second, social engagement protects people from AD and dementia in later life since it facility the brain to thrive. Third, People should ensure they get a healthy diet as a way of preventing AD. People should consume plenty of omega-3 fats and reduce consumption of sugar and fats. Taking a cup of tea every day can help to prevent AD because taking great tea stimulates memory and mental alertness. Also, taking enough fruits and vegetable will assist in maximizing protective antioxidants. Fourth, people to should ensure they get quality sleep as a way of averting the condition. It can be guaranteed by having a regular sleeping schedule by avoiding using computers or watching television in the bedroom. It is also important to get enough sleep by sleeping about eight hours. Lastly, people should manage their stress since stress takes a significant part of the brain reducing the memory area, hinders nerve cell growth, and this might lead to occurrence of AD

Treatment of AD

The progression of the disease cannot be slowed down because the disease cannot be cured and impaired functions cannot be restored. Nevertheless, the symptoms of the disease can be a target to improve the quality of the folks life and decrease the effect of more distressing aspects of the ailment. Cholinesterase inhibitors are drugs that are used to treat symptoms related to thinking, memory, judgment, language, and other thought processes (Carvalho, Winter, & Souza Antunes, 2015). There are three types of cholinesterase used to treat the condition. One, Rivastigmine is used to treat mild to moderate AD. Second, Donepezil is approved to deal with all stages of the ailment. Lastly, Galantamine treats mild to moderate Alzheimer disease.

The second form of medication is memantine used to treat moderate to severe Alzheimers disease (Carvalho, Winter, & Souza Antunes, 2015). The medication is prescribed to improve attention, memory, language, reason, and ability to do a simple task. Another form of treatment is focusing on managing the patients behavior problems, agitation, and confusion; supporting the family and modifying the home environment. The underlying disorder leading to confusion should also be identified and treated.

References

Anderson, N., Bulatao, R., & Cohen, B. (2004). Critical perspectives on racial and ethnic differences in health in late life (1st ed.). Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press.

Carvalho, K., Winter, E., & Souza Antunes, A. (2015). Analysis of Technological Developments in the Treatment of Alzheimers Disease through Patent Documents. Intelligent Information Management, 07(05), 268-281. http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/iim.2015.75022

Latest Alzheimer's. (2017). Latest Facts & Figures Report | Alzheimer's Association. Retrieved from http://www.alz.org/facts/