Statistics on health, both physical and mental, are always an interesting thing to observe. The numbers show data on a variety of subjects, such as the number of teenagers who are engaging in stupid sexual practices, or the percentage of people who are abusing prescription medication. However, sometimes the statistics can be alarming to observe, such as the increasing number of cases of syphilis, or how many people are infected with resistant strains of staph bacteria. Among the more alarming statistics about the situation of public health involves the disease known as Alzheimer’s, which can leave anyone that is unfortunate enough to get it severely mentally handicapped.
According to the latest available statistics, an estimated 5.2 million people in America have the condition, leaving them mentally handicapped and their personal relationships severely strained. What is even worse than this, according to experts at the Alzheimer’s Association, is that it is likely to damage the minds of an estimated one in every eight baby boomers in the coming years. This was hot on the heels of a report of the number of cases of people that are being mentally handicapped by this disease reaching 411,000 in 2000. The analysis of the statistical data taken across several years’ shows that there is a chance the increase in Alzheimer’s cases is a trend. If the increase is part of a trend, statistical experts have little reason to doubt the possibility of the number of cases reaching 454,000 in 2010 and 959,000 by 2045. That’s a very large chunk of the US population.
The report says that an estimated 14% of everyone over the age of 70 is under a state of dementia, with Alzheimer’s being a form of it. Dementia is a category of mental conditions that can leave someone mentally handicapped, severely impair their ability to function normally, and fracture their interpersonal relationships. Anywhere between 60 to 80% of these cases are Alzheimer’s. The condition usually starts off with seemingly mundane symptoms, such as mild bouts with memory loss. However, as the condition progresses, the person eventually falls into a state of confusion and, given time, the memory loss becomes almost complete. In most patients, by this stage, they have lost almost all ability to care for themselves.
The factor that causes Alzheimer’s is not entirely clear. That has been the main reason for medical science being largely unable to find a cure or vaccine against it. There is also very little knowledge on how Alzheimer’s works, and what little that is known isn’t easy to use in developing an effective treatment. For the time being, there are a few ways to help alleviate the damage, and some headway is being made in research devoted to using music and song to help restore cognitive function, but options are still severely limited.
If the situation remains as it is now, and the statistics and predictions are correct, then at least one family member in every family in American will suffer from Alzheimer’s in the near future. If no effective means to treat or prevent the disease are found soon, then the problem can only get worse from here.
Harvey Ong is a part-time writer and part-time creative, currently employed by an online media and advertising company. If you find this article very informative, you can read more articles at
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