Tuesday, November 30 marks the conclusion of Alzheimer’s Awareness month, but the focus doesn’t have to stop on that day.
The Alzheimer’s Association reports that more than six million people in the United States are living with Alzheimer’s disease, which is a type of dementia that affects memory, thinking and behavior. Symptoms eventually grow severe enough to interfere with daily tasks. Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of dementia, a general term for memory loss and other cognitive abilities serious enough to interfere with daily life. Alzheimer’s disease accounts for 60 – 80 percent of dementia cases.
But Alzheimer’s is not just memory loss. Alzheimer’s kills. It is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. The Alzheimer’s Association’s most recent report from 2019 for the State of Georgia indicated that there were 4,221 deaths from Alzheimer’s disease.
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, one in three seniors dies with Alzheimer’s or another dementia; this complex neurological disease kills more than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined.
The most common early symptom of Alzheimer’s is difficulty remembering newly learned information because Alzheimer’s changes typically begin in the part of the brain that affects learning. As Alzheimer’s advances through the brain, it leads to increasingly severe symptoms, including disorientation, mood and behavior changes; deepening confusion about events, time and place; unfounded suspicions about family, friends and professional caregivers; more serious memory loss and behavior changes; and difficulty speaking, swallowing and walking.
To bring awareness to this complex neurological disease, President Ronald Reagan first designated November as Alzheimer’s Awareness Month in 1983. That designation has continued since with every United States President declaring November as Alzheimer’s Awareness Month, urging the public to learn more about Alzheimer’s disease, and to offer support to individuals living with the disease and to their caregivers.
The Alzheimer’s Association’s statistics for 2021 reported over 11 million Americans provide unpaid care for people with Alzheimer’s or other dementias. The caregivers provided an estimated 15.3 billion hours valued at nearly $257 billion.
As previously reported by WACO 100, the 10 early signs and symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease include the following:
1.) Memory loss that disrupts daily life.
2.) Challenges in planning or solving problems.
3.) Difficulty completing familiar tasks.
4.) Confusion with time or place.
5.) Trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships.
6.) New problems with words in speaking or writing.
7.) Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps.
8.) Decreased or poor judgment.
9.) Withdrawal from work or social activities.
10.) Changes in mood and personality.
If you notice any of these signs or symptoms, don’t ignore them. Schedule an appointment with your doctor.