Alzheimer’s disease (Alzheimer’s), an ultimately fatal form of dementia, is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, accounting for 3.6% of all deaths in 2014. Alzheimer’s deaths can be an indicator of paid and unpaid caregiver burden because nearly everyone in the final stages of Alzheimer’s needs constant care, regardless of the setting, as the result of functional and cognitive declines.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMW) published on May 26, 2017, shows that the number of deaths are on the rise. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia. It currently affects an estimated 5.5 million adults in the United States and is expected to affect 13.8 million U. S. adults aged ≥65 years by 2050.
According to the report most Alzheimer’s decedents died in a nursing home or long-term care facility in 1999 (67.5%) and 2014 (54.1%). The percentage who died in a medical facility declined from 14.7% in 1999 to 6.6% in 2014. In contrast, the percentage who died at home increased from 13.9% in 1999 to 24.9% in 2014, with an additional 6.1% who died in a hospice facility in 2014.
In Texas, from 1999, Alzheimer’s disease deaths was 2,833, compared to 6,772 in 2014. It must be noted that the number of Alzheimer’s deaths has increased, in part, because of a growing population of older adults.
Given the increasing number of Alzheimer’s deaths and persons with Alzheimer’s dying at home, there is a growing number of caregivers who likely can benefit from interventions like education, respite care, and home health assistance; such interventions can lessen the burden of caregiving and can improve the care received by persons with Alzheimer’s.
You can read the entire report by accessing the following link: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6620a1.
Source: Taylor CA, Greenlund SF, McGuire LC, Lu H, Croft JB. Deaths from Alzheimer’s Disease — United States, 1999–2014. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2017;66:521–526.