Soon, Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias won’t only be about your parent’s generation. They will also be about yours.
This comes from new data, released on Jan. 5 to mark the start of Alzheimer Awareness Month, which confirms more than 71,000 Canadians living with Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia are under the age of 65.
Part of the initial findings of a study undertaken by the Alzheimer Society in conjunction with RiskAnalytica, this new information on the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias paints a potentially frightening picture about the present and future impact of dementia on Canadian Society.
“Of those living with Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia, approximately 15 per cent of them are under age 65,” said Joanne Bertrand, executive director of the Alzheimer Society of Guelph- Wellington.
“The reality is that the businesses and industry sectors are also being affected as our boomer generation, a generation of leaders and mentors, are affected by dementia.
“More importantly, those who may be forced into early retirement as a result of their condition need to know there are supports available to them.
“At the Alzheimer Society of Guelph-Wellington, we currently have a growing number of support groups for those in the early stage of dementia – and fully one quarter of the attendees are under the age of 65.”
Highlights from the initial findings of the study Rising Tide: The Impact of Dementia on Canadian Society include:
– approximately 500,000 Canadians are living with Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia;
– of the 500,000 people affected, more than 71,000 of them are under the age of 65, and approximately 50,000 of them are under the age of 60;
– one in 11 people over the age of 65 currently have Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia;
– women make up 72 per cent of Canadians with Alzheimer’s disease;
– within just five years, an additional 250,000 Canadians could develop Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia; and
– within a generation (25 years), the number of people living with Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia could reach between 1 million and 1.3 million.
The Alzheimer Society is issuing a call to action for all Canadians this January, asking them to do what they can to help turn the tide, and ease the impact of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.
These actions can include making a donation to support critical research, raising their voice to this country’s parliamentarians, and doing the things they can to help reduce their own risk of developing dementia.
“Every Canadian has a reason to care,” said Jim Mann, an Alzheimer advocate who was diagnosed with the disease at the age of 58. “Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias are a tragic reality for a rapidly growing number of Canadian families. The time to act is now.”
Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias are progressive, degenerative diseases that destroy vital brain cells. They are not a normal part of aging. Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia, accounts for approximately 64 per cent of all dementias in Canada.
While each of the related diseases has unique aspects, symptoms include a gradual and continuing decline of memory, changes in judgment or reasoning, mood and behaviour, and an inability to perform familiar tasks.
The Alzheimer Society of Guelph-Wellington has been serving the community for over 20 years. It has a variety of support information available to all those affected as well as their families and caregivers and is committed to addressing the “rising tide.”
For more information on the Rising Tide: The Impact of Dementia on Canadian Society or the Alzheimer Society, visit www.alzheimer.ca.
