The five years between 2013 and 2017 saw a 200% increase in the number of commercially-insured Americans diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or early-onset dementia between the ages of 30 to 64. “While the underlying cause is not clear, advances in technology are certainly allowing for earlier and more definitive diagnosis,” says a Blue Cross executive.
The data was collected by the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (and its licensee Independence Blue Cross) in a report titled Early-Onset Dementia and Alzheimer’s Rates Grow for Younger Americans. schwit1 shared their announcement:
Among that group, the average age of a person living with either form of dementia is 49… The number diagnosed with these conditions increased 373% among 30- to 44-year-olds, 311% among 45- to 54-year-olds and 143% among 55- to 64-year-olds from 2013 to 2017…
The study also took a deeper look into early-onset Alzheimer’s disease and found that more than 37,000 commercially insured Americans between the ages of 30 and 64 were diagnosed with the condition in 2017 — a 131% jump in diagnoses since 2013.
of this story at Slashdot.
Source:: Slashdot