Health Issue Alzheimer’s disease is an irreversible and progressive brain cell degenerative disease that causes a steady decline in memory and mental functioning (“Overview,” 2015). As the most common form of dementia, the causes of Alzheimer’s disease may vary and result from a combination of multiple disorders that alter brain changes such as, clumping of amyloid plaques, tangled neurofibrillary or loss of connections between nerve cells in the brain (“Alzheimer's Disease,” n.d.). Currently, Alzheimer’s disease is the 6th leading cause of death in the United States. The Alzheimer’s Association states that there are more than 5 million people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in the United States and 35 million people worldwide. The
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Generally, the biggest risk factors for late-onset Alzheimer’s are aging, hereditary factors, and the presence of the irregular APOE-e4 gene which causes the onset of the disease (Alzheimer’s Association, 2016). Of these three important risk factors, old age is the biggest factor. Age and the likelihood of Alzheimer’s increase at an almost parallel rate, but this does not mean Alzheimer’s is a normal component of aging. Alzheimer’s is a disease, and age is not the only element of developing the …show more content…
Compared to whites, Hispanics are approximately 1.5x more likely to get the disease, and African Americans are about two times more likely (Alzheimer’s Association, 2010). Between the years of 2000 and 2013, deaths associated with Alzheimer’s disease increased by a whopping 71%, and Alzheimer’s disease is now the eighth leading cause of death among Hispanic Americans (CDC, 2015). Within the same time frame, researchers found that the incidence of dementias in African Americans was 26.6 cases of dementia per 1,000 people, while whites had an incidence of 19.3 cases per 1,000 people.
An article, published by the JAMA Network, found the presence of the APOE-e4 gene to be significantly greater in whites than in Hispanics and African Americans. Despite these results, it is still evident that Hispanics and African Americans have a much higher prevalence of Alzheimer’s versus other ethnic groups. These results suggest that the high presence of Alzheimer’s and other dementias in Hispanics and African Americans are likely due to lifestyle factors and/or environmental
Generally, the biggest risk factors for late-onset Alzheimer’s are aging, hereditary factors, and the presence of the irregular APOE-e4 gene which causes the onset of the disease (Alzheimer’s Association, 2016). Of these three important risk factors, old age is the biggest factor. Age and the likelihood of Alzheimer’s increase at an almost parallel rate, but this does not mean Alzheimer’s is a normal component of aging. Alzheimer’s is a disease, and age is not the only element of developing the …show more content…
Compared to whites, Hispanics are approximately 1.5x more likely to get the disease, and African Americans are about two times more likely (Alzheimer’s Association, 2010). Between the years of 2000 and 2013, deaths associated with Alzheimer’s disease increased by a whopping 71%, and Alzheimer’s disease is now the eighth leading cause of death among Hispanic Americans (CDC, 2015). Within the same time frame, researchers found that the incidence of dementias in African Americans was 26.6 cases of dementia per 1,000 people, while whites had an incidence of 19.3 cases per 1,000 people.
An article, published by the JAMA Network, found the presence of the APOE-e4 gene to be significantly greater in whites than in Hispanics and African Americans. Despite these results, it is still evident that Hispanics and African Americans have a much higher prevalence of Alzheimer’s versus other ethnic groups. These results suggest that the high presence of Alzheimer’s and other dementias in Hispanics and African Americans are likely due to lifestyle factors and/or environmental