Illinois Could See 18% Increase In Alzheimer's Deaths By 2025
(CBS) -- The Alzheimer's Association released its "Facts and Figures" report Tuesday and included new findings on the disease's prevalence in Illinois.
WBBM's Lisa Fielding reports.
5.5 million Americans have Alzheimer's, including 220,000 in Illinois. The progressive disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. Illinois had 3,266 deaths from Alzheimer's in 2014, which was a nearly 12 percent increase from the previous year. Nancy Rainwater with the Alzheimer's Association, Greater Illinois Chapter said there are many significant reasons for the jump in deaths
"Some of it has to do with better diagnoses, but a lot of it has to do with other causes of death are decreasing because there are treatments, and in some cases cures, where Alzheimer's disease doesn't have that," she said.
The report also talks about the disease's impact on caregivers. More than 15 million people provide unpaid care, which includes physical, emotional and financial support for people suffering from Alzheimer's.
The new Alzheimer's Association report also projected a more than 18 percent increase by 2025 in the number of people with the disease or another dementia in Illinois. Rainwater said only more research dollars can lead to better treatment.
The full text of the report can be viewed at www.alz.org.
