2006 State Report > Our Health > Alzheimer's Disease
Our Health: Alzheimer's Disease
Alzheimer's disease is a progressive gradual decline in the ability to think and remember, as well as to function physically. It is irreversible and there is no cure. According to the Arnold School of Public Health of the University of South Carolina, which compiles the state's Alzheimer's Disease Registry, there were 48,640 individuals in the registry who showed symptoms of Alzheimer's disease or related disorders (ADRD) as of January 1, 2003. Related disorders include dementias associated with vascular disease and chronic conditions such as Parkinson's disease. Eight percent of South Carolinians aged 65 and over and 27 percent of those aged 85 and older had ADRD in the same year.
By the year 2030, there will be an estimated 90,000 people with ADRD on South Carolina's Alzheimer's Disease Registry.
Projections of Alzheimer's Disease in South Carolina: 2005 – 2030
According to the Alzheimer's Disease Registry, the number of people with ADRD in South Carolina is probably undercounted. Individuals with mild forms of the disease who have not yet been diagnosed do not appear in the registry. In fact, previous studies suggest that the number of individuals with ADRD may be 50 percent greater than the number diagnosed with ADRD. South Carolina's Alzheimer's Disease Registry, however, is widely recognized as the best population-based registry of ADRD in the country. The registry uses data from a wide variety of sources to capture as many diagnoses as possible.
Among South Carolinians diagnosed with ADRD:
- 64% have Alzheimer's disease.
- 16% have dementia due to stroke.
- 20% have a dementia related to other chronic conditions.
- 38% live in nursing facilities, 57% reside in the community, and 5% live in unknown locations.
- 66% are women.
- 33% are African American.
- 38% are 85 years or older.
South Carolina's Alzheimer's Resource Coordination Center (ARCC) was created in 1994. The center is housed in the Lieutenant Governor's Office on Aging and was created to provide statewide coordination, service system development, information and referral, and caregiver support services to individuals with Alzheimer's disease and related disorders, their families and caregivers. The Center also awarded $150,000 in state funds for projects to assist Alzheimer's caregivers. In fiscal year 2004, 1,523 Alzheimer's caregivers participated in educational sessions offered through the ARCC and funded grantees.
Based upon the above data, there are approximately 50,000 individuals in South Carolina with ADRD, and they are projected to grow to 90,000 by 2030. The impact upon South Carolina's Medicaid program, families and businesses will be considerable. Based upon National Alzheimer's Association data, we can see the potential impact nationally:
- National direct and indirect annual costs of caring for individuals with Alzheimer's disease are at least $100 billion, according to estimates used by the Alzheimer's Association and the National Institute on Aging.
- Alzheimer's disease costs American business $61 billion a year, according to a report commissioned by the Alzheimer's Association. Of that figure, $24.6 billion covers Alzheimer health care and $36.5 billion covers costs related to caregivers of individuals with Alzheimer's, including lost productivity, absenteeism and worker replacement.
- More than 7 out of 10 people with Alzheimer's disease live at home, where almost 75 percent of their care is provided by family and friends. The remainder is "paid" care costing an average of $19,000 per year. Families pay almost all of that out of pocket.
- The Medicare costs for beneficiaries with Alzheimer's are expected to increase 75 percent, from $91 billion in 2005 to $160 billion in 2010; Medicaid expenditures on residential dementia care will increase 14 percent, from $21 billion in 2005 to $24 billion in 2010, according to a report commissioned by the Alzheimer's Association.
- Average lifetime cost of care for an individual with Alzheimer's is $174,000.
- Based upon this lifetime cost factor, the current cost to families, individuals, insurance companies, businesses and Medicaid and Medicare, the lifetime cost in South Carolina for the current 50,000 individuals with ADRD would be $8.7 billion. By 2030 the lifetime cost of 90,000 individuals with ADRD would be $15.7 billion not considering the impact of inflation. If assuming the conservative inflation factor of 3% annually, the lifetime cost of the impact of ADRD would more than double to $31.4 billion by 2030.