Alzheimer's Association Fact Sheet

• The Alzheimer’s Association serves individuals with the disease, their families, caregivers, community members and professionals in every county in Colorado.
  
  
• Established in 1980, the Alzheimer’s Association of Colorado has offices in Colorado Springs, Denver, Durango, Fort Collins, Grand Junction, Greeley, and Pueblo.
  
  
• The Alzheimer’s Associations provides family counseling and support, community education and professional training, a 24-hour Helpline, the Medic Alert® + Alzheimer’s Association Safe Return® program, advocacy at the state and national levels and opportunities for volunteers.
  
  
• Alzheimer’s is the 6th leading cause of death. Symptoms of Alzheimer’s, the most common form of dementia, include the loss of memory, reason, judgment and language skills.
  
  
• Volunteers of all ages are being called to become one of 5 million Champions in the fight against Alzheimer’s; one for each person living with the disease. Champions are people living with the disease, friends, families, caregivers, celebrities, and business and community leaders.
  
  
• In Colorado there are 65,000 people living with the disease and for each person with the diagnosis, the lives of three other people have been changed forever.
  
  
• Colorado is projected to have the second highest percentage increase of Alzheimer’s diagnoses in the U.S. from 65,000 to 140,000 people in the next twenty years.
  
  
• Seventy percent of those with Alzheimer’s are cared for at home. The value of the unpaid care provided by 124,000 caregivers in Colorado is $1 billion.
  
  
• The cost of this disease to businesses is $36.5 billion and includes the need for employees to spend time out of the office caregiving and dealing with stress-related health concerns.
  
  
• Every 71 seconds someone is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
  
  
• One out of every eight people over the age of 65 will be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and one out of every two over the age of 85; 500,000 are under the age of 65.
  
  
• There are currently 5.2 million people in the U.S. with Alzheimer’s disease; 10 million baby boomers will have Alzheimer’s disease in their lifetime.
  
  
• The Alzheimer’s Association is the leading voluntary health organization in Alzheimer’s care, support and research.  Our vision is a world without Alzheimer’s.
  
  
• Alzheimer’s is a disease that affects the brain and involves plaques and tangles that develop in the brain.
  
  
• There is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease. For some individuals, current treatments may slow the disease and/or improve symptoms.
  
  
• While some decrease in short term memory is a normal part of aging, Alzheimer’s disease is not.
  
  
• More people are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s than prostate and breast cancer combined.