Elder Adults Alzheimer's Disease Is a Brain Case Study

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Elder Adults

Alzheimer's disease is a brain disease that is irreversible and progressive which destroys memory and thinking skills slowly and eventually the ability of carrying out even the simplest tests.in most people with Alzheimer's, the symptoms first appear when one is over the age of 60 years. This is the most common cause of dementia among old people (Alzheimer's Association,2012).

Diagnosis of Alzheimer's in elderly adult

As we have seen, age is the greatest risk factor of Alzheimer's disease.it is estimated that one in every fourteen people who are above the age of 65 years and one in every six people who are over the age of 80 years has Alzheimer's disease. Another study shows that one in nine people who are 65 years and older which is estimated as 11% have Alzheimer's disease. The same study shows that a third of people who are over the age of 85 years and older an estimate of 32% have Alzheimer's disease. Of those people who have Alzheimer's disease it is estimated that just 4% of them are below 65 years,13% are between 65 and 70, 44% are 75 to 84 years and 38% of them are 85 years or older (Alzheimer's Association, 2012). This clearly shows that there are higher chances of diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease in elderly adults. This does not mean that the disease is restricted to older people. These numerical data is a clear indication that Alzheimer's disease is high in elderly people.

Studies that discuss Alzheimer's disease

Numerous studies have been conducted on Alzheimer's disease. Most of these studies focus on differences in being diagnosed with Alzheimer's in regards to the variations of age, gender and even race.

An illustration of one such study is shown on the table below.

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Proportion of Americans Aged 55 and Older with Cognitive Impairment, by Race/Ethnicity,

Age Bracket

55-64

65-74

75-84

Over 85

whites

3%

5%

9%

25%

African-Americans

7%

9%

22%

56%

Hispanic

5%

11%

44%

(Atsali, 2014).

This research indicates that in the U.S. African-Americans are almost twice as likely while Hispanics are one and a half times more likely that older white people to get Alzheimer's disease.. According to studies the difference in prevalence between the races could be due to various reasons like cultural backgrounds. African-Americans have more vascular diseases hence might be a contributing factor to dementia. Vascular disease factors like diabetes and high blood pressure increase the risk of Alzheimer's hence the differences in the rates of the diseases between racial and ethnic groups might be from non-genetic factors. These factors can be reduced through diet change, medication, exercise and education.

Another study involves lifetime risks of Alzheimer's. The two risks on focus are age and sex. The table below shows;

Percentages of prevalence of men and women at different ages;

Ages

65

75

85

Men

10%

12%

14%

Women

19%

23%

24%

(Atsali, 2014).

A different study of same variables gives slightly different results but the same trend is visible..

Ages

65

75

85

Men

9.1%

10.2%

12.1%

women

17.2%

18.5%

20.3%

(Atsali, 2014).

These two studies show that women are more likely to develop Alzheimer's as compared to men. This difference is explained by the fact that women live longer than men and at the same time the changes in hormonal levels play a big role.

Case study;

The case study provided is about an elderly woman Catherine who is.....

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