Why Caregivers need to care -- about themselves
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Caregiver Health at Risk: the Facts
These statistics are simply staggering. And, according to the 2020 Alzheimer's Disease Fact Sheet, with projections made from current data, "unless something is done, the costs of Alzheimer’s in 2050 are estimated to total $1.2 trillion (in today’s dollars). Costs to Medicare and Medicaid will increase nearly 500 percent." And that's just the projection for one disease, Alzheimer's. The graying of America is going to be the bankrupting of America, indeed. This is a crisis of monumental proportions, one which our healthcare system cannot begin to address, and so it us up to those who have walked in the caregiver's shoes to help others on that journey. You've heard the phrase, "It takes a village." Well, in this case, we may find it takes a whole planet!
- According to the Family Caregiver Alliance, there are approximately 65.7 million family caregivers in the U.S. today providing "free" care valued at about $450 billion. Two out of every five adults care for a family member and approximately 2/3 of caregivers are women. As the baby boomer generation ages (at a rate of about 10,000 per day baby boomers reaching age 65), caregiving will continue to be a crucial issue among Americans.
- In 2014, caregivers for Alzheimer's alone provided over 17.9 billion hours of unpaid care valued at more than $217.7 billion. Alzheimer's cost the nation $226 billion in 2015 and that figure is expect to rise to $1.2 trillion by 2050.
- Caregivers face significant risks to their own health due to high levels of stress, specifically: alcohol, tobacco, and drug abuse, anxiety disorders, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and heart attack, heartburn, infection, obesity, pain (muscle or joint pain and headaches) and depression (According to the FamilyDoctor.org website)
- www.familydoctor.org/familydoctor/en/seniors/caregiving/caregiver-health-and-wellness.html)
These statistics are simply staggering. And, according to the 2020 Alzheimer's Disease Fact Sheet, with projections made from current data, "unless something is done, the costs of Alzheimer’s in 2050 are estimated to total $1.2 trillion (in today’s dollars). Costs to Medicare and Medicaid will increase nearly 500 percent." And that's just the projection for one disease, Alzheimer's. The graying of America is going to be the bankrupting of America, indeed. This is a crisis of monumental proportions, one which our healthcare system cannot begin to address, and so it us up to those who have walked in the caregiver's shoes to help others on that journey. You've heard the phrase, "It takes a village." Well, in this case, we may find it takes a whole planet!
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Computer use and exercise combo may reduce the odds of having memory loss
Here is a link to an article in Science Daily which reports on a study done at the Mayo Clinic, which is published in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings in May, 2012. It gives some very hopeful resluts for the 926 participants, that using a computer along with moderate exercise significantly improves your chances of warding off memory loss.
http://sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/05/120501134201.htm |
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