A Brief Note On The Canadian Baby Boom Generation

Alzheimer disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia in the elderly, accounting for 65–70% of all cases (Jellinger, Janetzky, Attems, & Kienzl, 2008). The other dementias are of the Parkinson 's group, the fronto-temporal group and the vascular group. The total worldwide yearly costs for the treatment and care of patients suffering from dementia are estimated to be around 250 billion US dollars. The lifetime risk for AD between the ages of 65 and 100 is 33% for men and 45% for women with an annual increase of 1–2% in the seventh decade to almost 60% in the 10th decade with doubling every 5 years (Jellinger et al., 2008). AD is incurable, and thus represents a major public health problem. AD represents a challenge to humanity due to its relatively recent discovery, progressive nature of the illness, and complex diagnosis.

Alzheimer’s disease is the 6th leading cause of death in America. It kills more than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined. Alzheimer’s accounts for 70-80% of dementia cases. By the age of 65, 1 in 9 people are diagnosed and by the age of 85, 1 in 3 people will have the disease. According to the Alzheimer Association, 5 million people in American have Alzheimer’s. Alzheimer’s starts to form 20 years prior to being diagnosed. Learning about Alzheimer’s can help families understand how Alzheimer’s is more than just memory loss, it is an incurable mental disease.

The disease called Alzheimer’s is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States (Weiner, 1987). It is estimated that the elderly population will double between now and 2030. During this period, the number of elderly will grow by an average of 2.8% annually (U.S. Census Bureau, 2001). By 2050, the number of people with Alzheimer’s is estimated to range from 11.3 million to 16 million (Alzheimer’s Association, 2005). These startling numbers should prompt an examination into one of the leading causes of death among this group of people. Understanding what Alzheimer’s is and the known causes of the disease are a good starting point. For those who have aging family members, knowing the risk factors and warning

The likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s doubles every year and recent studies have found that women are more likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s then men (Medicine).

According to the Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI), dementia is one of the most prevalent disorders found among

One of the most prominent and perhaps most feared condition associated with aging is dementia. The family of disorders can cause individuals to lose their mind, reducing one from being a complex, thinking, feeling human being to being confused and vegetative, unable to recognize their loved ones. Serious dementia affects nearly 37 million people globally, but predictions of how those numbers will change over the next few decades are conflicting (textbook). Although we know dementia as to do with damage to nerve cells in the brain, there are ongoing studies looking at correlations between other health issues and these types of diseases.

Dementia has many forms and it is a decline in memory, language and reasoning. Alzheimer’s is a form of dementia. Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder, meaning the loss of function and stability. This is a disease that affects cognitive and physical abilities in the patient. Many people in the world have Alzheimer’s and it is in elders over the age of 65. There are lots of treatments available, but there is no cure for it.

As Canada’s baby boom generation begins to turn 65, attention is now focusing on the demographic trend that anthropologists have been discussing for years. Canada like many countries is aging. Life expectancy has been rising for decades. In 2006, people could expect to live to 81 compared to just 25 years earlier when the average life expectancy was only 76. Canada's birthrate exploded between the end of WWII until about 1965, this increased birthrate was due to an improving economy which lead to an increase in larger families. Canadian women born between 1911 and 1912 had an average of 2.9 children, whereas those born between 1929 and 1933 had an average of 3.3. These two generations separated by 20 years shows a 13% increase in the number

Lindsay et. al (2002), explain that dementia is fast growing in elderly population and it has a significant effect on healthcare services and society due to increasing concern of health policy makers and service provider as life expectancy increase particularly as the baby boomer ages (p.445).

Alzheimer’s disease is an affliction that many families and individuals all over the world have to endure. As the individual slowly loses their memory and their ability to recognize themselves and others, they succumb to the disease soon after. Elderly people are most often associated with this disease, but a significant population under the age of 40 has shown symptoms of this disease. The positive news is that people, especially young people, can take precautionary measures to avoid being afflicted with Alzheimer’s. Researchers have conducted studies to determine whether Alzheimer’s is truly more prevalent in females rather than males. Alzheimer’s disease differs in how men and women are affected. It is essential to look at the physiological differences in men and women to fully comprehend the difference in prevalence factors. If medical professionals can better understand how the differences in AD in males vs. females, the better the treatments can be made available for certain genders. Treatments

One cognitive defect affecting elderly patients is Alzheimer's disease. This cognitive disease affects many populations around the world, but mainly aging individuals3. Though the quantity of life is extending with modern medical practices4,

Alzheimer’s disease is one of the most devastating diseases affecting approximately 5.3 million people in the U.S. (Alzheimer’s Association, 2015; Caminiti, 2015; Hammer, 2016). It is not exclusively a disease of old age as over 200,000 are diagnosed under the age of 65. Other startling facts are that a majority of afflicted by Alzheimer’s are women and the rates of diagnosis are increasing substantially (Alzheimer’s association, 2015). Alzheimer’s is a complicated disease that robs a person of their memory and eventually their bodily functions, rendering the person unable to care for him or herself. Furthermore, Alzheimer’s is fatal with no cure or prevention known to this date. There has been a 71 percent increase in Alzheimer’s deaths compared to other major deadly diseases during the first 13 years of this century.

Alzheimer’s disease is commonly found in older people. Since it is a progressive disease, symptoms will continue to worsen as the patient gets older. The most recent United States census estimates that, “some 4.7 million people of 65 years of age and older [are] living with Alzheimer's disease in the US” (MacGill). Continuing, the age factor of this disease is seen even more when looking at the population proportions. According to a statistical report, “just over a tenth of people in the over-65 age group have the disease in the US. In the over-85s, the proportion goes up to about a third” (MacGill). Furthermore, the report also concluded that one in every nine people will have Alzheimer’s. This condition is not bias to any ethnicity or race

Dementia is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. It is the fifth leading cause of death for those age 65 and older. In 2014 an estimated 5.2 million Americans of all ages have Alzheimer’s disease. This estimation includes 5 million people age 65 and older and about 200,000 people under age 65 who have younger-onset Alzheimer’s. One in nine individuals age 65 and older have Alzheimer’s disease. Approximately one-third of people age 85 and older have Alzheimer’s disease. Of those with Alzheimer’s disease, the majority are age 75 or older. The number of new cases of Alzheimer’s increases dramatically with age. It was projected in in 2014, there will be about 59,000 new cases in the class of people age 65 to 74, 172,000 new cases

There are approximately 25 million people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) worldwide. In the United States, it is estimated that five million people living with AD. Each year the number of the people diagnosed with AD rises (Ganguli, Dodge, Shen, Pandav, & DeKosky, 2005). According to Goodman and Fuller (2016), Alzheimer is seen in 6% of people at age 65, 20% of people older than 80 years old, and 95% chances for people at age 95(p. 1465). It is reported that Alzheimer’s disease will double every twenty years to approximately