ALZHEIMER'S DEATHS RISING RAPIDLY

By 2050 it is expected that there will be 13.8 million Alzheimer's patients in the U.S.  Families need to be prepared, since it is increasingly family members taking care of the patients at home and not medical facilities.

It has long been expected that as Americans continue to live longer, the number of elderly people who suffer from Alzheimer's disease would increase.  When that is combined with the overall size of the Baby Boomer generation, then the number of people with the disease is expected to increase dramatically.

In fact, it already has.

The number of people who died from the disease in 2014 increased by 54% over those who died from it in 1999, according to Reuters in "U.S. Alzheimer's deaths jump 54 percent, many increasing dying at home."

A staggering 13.8 million Americans are expected to have Alzheimer's by 2050.

Consequently, families need to be prepared to deal with the disease now more than ever.

Over the same time period, the number of people who passed away from Alzheimer's at home nearly doubled to 24.9 percent.

It is difficult enough for families to handle the disease when the sufferer is being treated in a nursing home or other facility. When the patient is still living at home, families can have even bigger issues and often need more support than is available.

What these numbers reveal is that the U.S. needs to plan for the care that all of these expected patients will be needing.

At the same time, that planning needs to include support for families who take care of the Alzheimer's patients in their homes.

Reference: Reuters (May 25, 2017) "U.S. Alzheimer's deaths jump 54 percent, many increasing dying at home."