Mar 21, 2022 4 min read

The recently released 2022 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures Report by the Alzheimer’s Association showed that the burden of the disease in the country and the state continues to grow.

The report provides an in-depth look at the latest statistics on Alzheimer’s disease in the areas of prevalence, incidence, mortality, costs of care and impact on caregivers.

More Americans are living with the disease. An estimated 6.5 million Americans ages 65 and older had Alzheimer’s as of 2021, including 280,000 in Pennsylvania.

Deaths due to Alzheimer’s have increased by an eye-popping 145% since 2021, including 280,000 in Pennsylvania.

This has resulted in many friends and family serving as Alzheimer’s caregivers. In Pennsylvania, 401,000 caregivers provided a total of 642 million hours of unpaid care, valued at more than $10 billion.

The Medicaid costs for caring for people with Alzheimer’s are estimated at $3.658 billion. By 2025, these costs are projected to increase by 10.2%.

“It really amplifies the fact that we need to address the impact that dementia is having not only on our health system, but on our families and cost of care,” said Sara Murphy, vice president of program and services, Alzheimer’s Association, Greater Pittsburgh Chapter. “This is really an urgent public health crisis.”

Sara Porter is a recruiter retention coordinator for Home Instead in Washington, which provides personalized in-home senior care services, where a lot of clients display symptoms of dementia and Alzheimer’s.

“Many times, we have clients where we see all of the signs of dementia, but they’re never officially diagnosed,” she said. “That makes things extremely challenging. We can potentially get them extra help, but a diagnosis is needed to provide treatment. There’s resources out there, but the diagnosis isn’t there.”

Porter, who lives in Lone Pine, has a personal connection to the disease. Her grandmother, Joanne Locy, battled dementia, dying in 2019.

“She had signs and symptoms of dementia in 2011 and it took us until 2017 to actually get her diagnosed,” Porter said. “(Primary care physicians) aren’t too fond of giving out that kind of diagnosis. They want to leave it to the professionals, but at the same time, unless you give a referral for a gerontologist, a lot of people don’t even know they exist. It almost should be a recommendation, that once you hit a certain age, you should follow up with a gerontologist.”

The report showed that only 23% of PCPs say they are familiar with new therapies in the pipeline to address mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer’s disease. When MCI is detected, PCPs most often recommended lifestyle changes (73%).

This year’s report includes a new section on the dementia care workforce. In Pennsylvania, there are about 273 geriatricians. By 2050, 601 geriatricians will be needed to serve 10% of those 65 and older in the commonwealth.

“The need is great to have compassionate individuals in the workforce, those that specialize in the diagnosing and treating of those with Alzheimer’s or other dementia,” Murphy admitted. “A look at the numbers in the report and what the numbers will look like for those with a diagnosis in 2050 compared to the amount of specialists that we have, all of it doesn’t balance out.”

Murphy said easing and improving cognitive assessments for primary care physicians to conduct could be a way of combatting the shortage of specialists for these types of diseases.

There is some optimism. Patients and PCPs feel that new treatments to combat Alzheimer’s disease are on the horizon. As of February, there are 104 disease-modifying treatments being evaluated in clinical trials or at various stages of regulatory appeal.

“With this report, we want to promote greater public awareness in the community,” Murphy said. “As the numbers continue to rise, the Alzheimer’s Association will stay true to its mission, by increasing awareness of the need for early detection and diagnosis, expanding local care and support services for all of those affected by Alzheimer’s and dementia, and funding critical research.”