A new study has found that there will be 28 million cases of Alzheimer's disease from the aging baby boomer generation by 2050.
The Lewin Group, which conducted the study, reported that the number of baby boomer Alzheimer's cases will increase from 1.2 percent in 2020 to 50.1 percent in 2050. By 2040, there will be 10 million of them with the disease, which is twice the present number of adults with Alzheimer's in the U.S., according to Alzheimer's Association.
The projected increase of Alzheimer's cases among the baby boomers consequently means more expenses will be poured into their care and treatment. According to the Lewin Group, this will account for 25 percent of Medicare expenses by 2040.
"AD progresses to more severe forms of the disease over time. As the baby boomers get older, increasing numbers of them will be living with AD," Christine Bredfeldt from The Lewin Group told Medscape Medical News. "The longer they live with AD, the more severe the disease will get. In 2040, the baby boomers will be between 76 and 94, and many of them will have lived with AD for several years."
"As baby boomers get older, the number of people developing the disease will rise to levels far beyond anything we've ever seen before," Maria Carrillo, chief science officer at the Alzheimer's Association, said in a statement, according Alzheimer's Association.
Carrillo said that although "there is a pipeline of experimental therapies that have the potential to delay the onset of Alzheimer's and perhaps even prevent the disease," public funding for such studies is limited in light of the seriousness of the problem.
"If we're going to change the current trajectory of the disease, we need consistent and meaningful investments in research from the federal government to ensure a more robust pipeline," Carrillo said. "Where we've made significant commitments - heart disease, cancer, HIV/AIDS - we've generated effective treatments and prevention strategies, and reduced death rates. Now is the time to do the same for Alzheimer's disease."
Lisa Alecxih of The Lewin Group shares the same sentiment as Carrillo, saying that the research findings clearly show that "the increased demand Alzheimer's will place on the health and social services systems over the next two decades ... requires additional investment by the federal government."
Alecxih said the new data proves the importance of implementing the National Plan to Address Alzheimer's Disease in order to reach the target of effective prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's disease by 2025.
The results of the study were presented on July 20 at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Washington, according to Live Science.
