welcome to the organic green doctor blog

i am a family physician who was diagnosed with
early mild cognitive impairment(mci) amnestic type on december 21, 2010
this is a precursor to alzheimers disease
because of this diagnosis i have opted to stop practicing medicine
this blog will be about my journey with this disease
please feel free to follow me along this path
i will continue blogging on organic gardening, green living,
solar power, rainwater collection, and healthy living
i will blog on these plus other things noted to be interesting

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

my story revisited 22-updated facts and figures

MY STORY REVISITED 22-UPDATED FACTS AND FIGURES
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almost 8.5 years ago i posted these facts and figures on alzheimers disease
here is how they have changed in that time since i was diagnosed

its still officially the 6th leading cause of death in the us
its the 5th leading cause of death in those over 65
some authorities believe its more like the 3rd leading cause of death since its under reported on death certificates
it still the only one of the top 10 that can not be cured treated or prevented

during 2000-2017 the mortality rates for alzheimers disease has increased by 145%
this is more than doubled the rate since i was diagnosed
1 in 3 senior folks die with alzheimers or other dementia

alzheimers and other dementias will cost us 195 billion dollars in 2019
by 2050 that number will be 1.1 trillion dollars
when i was diagnosed it was 183 billion dollars
thats a large increase in 8.5 years

someone develops the disease in the us every 65 seconds
when i was diagnosed it was every 68 seconds
8 years ago it was every 66 seconds
folks the clock is ticking against us
its predicted in a few years to be every 33 seconds

there are 5.8 million living with this disease now in the us
when i was diagnosed it was 5.5 million folks

so
when you compare the facts and figures from 2010 to 2019
you can easily see that this disease is marching on without us really
doing anything to stop it

can we afford not to do something


03-16-2011

FACTS AND FIGURES
facts and figures for alzheimers
look in the mirror and you will see a person affected by
alzheimers in some way

it is the 6th leading cause of death in the united states
it is the only one in the top ten that can not be cured,
prevented, or slowed down (sucks doesnt it)

the mortality rates for those top ten diseases have gone
down from 2000-2008 except for alzheimers which has risen
by 66%

there are 15 million caregivers of  patients with alzheimers and
dementia giving 17 billion hours of unpaid care at a cost of
$202 billion
these caregivers suffer a great degree of stress and health issues
themselves because of the prolonged care they have to provide

someone develops the disease every 66 seconds in the us
in 15 years that will increase to every 33 seconds
the cost will double in that period of time

from the alzheimers association at www.alz.org facts and figures


so my suggestion in 2019 is
take care of your health
support your local alzheimers walks
encourage congress to continue to support alzheimers research and education

the organicgreen doctor

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