Alzheimer's Disease

Older adults may worry about their memory and other thinking abilities, such as taking longer to learn something new. These changes are usually signs of mild forgetfulness — or age-related forgetfulness — and are often a normal part of aging. However, more serious memory problems could be due to mild cognitive impairment, dementia such as Alzheimer’s disease, or other factors beyond normal aging. Many older adults can become more forgetful as they age, which is why it is important to learn the differences between age-related forgetfulness and signs of dementia. The National Institute on Aging (NIA) recently released an infographic to help differentiate between age-related forgetfulness and signs of dementia.

NIA has launched a new website designed to educate and support people whose lives are touched by Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Alzheimers.gov is the federal government's portal to information and resources on Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, including Lewy body dementia, frontotemporal disorders, and vascular dementia. It's goal is to connect people with Alzheimer’s, caregivers and advocates to federal resources that educate and support their needs.

The Alzheimer's Association has published the 2019 Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures report. This annual report offers insight into the burden of Alzheimer's and dementia on individuals, caregivers, government and the nation's health care system. The report provides an in-depth look at the latest national statistics on Alzheimer's prevalence, incidence, mortality, and costs. It also examines awareness, attitudes, and utilization of cognitive assessments among older adults.

This Road Map outlines actions state and local public health agencies and their partners can take to stimulate changes in policies, systems and environments. The goal is also to ensure that initiatives to address Alzheimer's can be easily and efficiently incorporated into existing public health initiatives. The Road Map outlines 25 action items for the field of public health to promote brain health, better care for people with cognitive impairment, and increase attention to caregivers.

The Alzheimer's Association has released a report that offers insights into the burden of Alzheimer's disease. Currently, total costs of care for individuals with Alzheimer's and other dementias reached $259 billion this year. This, coupled with the fact that the number of Americans passing away from Alzheimer's is anticipated to double by the year 2050, means that an increasing amount of health care dollars will be used to pay for care for these individuals.

The Alzheimer's Association convened the Alzheimer's Association National Plan Care Support Milestone Workgroup, including experts in clinical care, long-term services and supports, dementia care, and support research, and public policy. The workgroup reviewed the current literature regarding Alzheimer's support and care in the U.S. and on a global scale, and developed several milestones to help create a better care and support system.

Justice in Aging, in collaboration with the Alzheimer's Association, released a new survey of dementia training requirements in each state. The number of Alzheimer's and other dementia diagnoses is on the rise, but there is often little to no training for staff and professionals that work with these populations. This survey was conducted to identify the holes in state law and to find promising practices to inform improvements in the future. The findings are available in a five-paper series.