Bruce Japsen Senior Contributor Feb 27, 2020
Early-onset dementia
and Alzheimer’s disease[+]
GETTY
Early-onset dementia and Alzheimer’s disease
jumped 200% among commercially insured Americans between the ages of 30 and 64
over a recent five-year period, a
new analysis of Blue Cross and Blue Shield health insurer
claims shows.
The report, the
latest from the Blue
Cross Blue Shield Association, shows 131,000 people between the ages
of “30 and 64 were diagnosed with either form of dementia” in 2017. The average
age of someone “with either condition is 49 and women are disproportionately
impacted than men,” the report, which is the latest in the trade
group’s “The Health of America” series, shows.
In 2017, there were 12.6 diagnoses per 10,000
adults of either early-onset dementia and Alzheimer’s disease for commercially
insured adults aged 30 to 64, the report said. That compares to 4.2 diagnoses
per 10,000 adults of early-onset dementia and Alzheimer’s disease combined for
the same 30 to 64 age group in 2013.
“The increase in early-onset dementia and
Alzheimer’s diagnoses among a generation who typically wouldn’t expect to
encounter these conditions for several decades is concerning, especially since
there is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease,” said Dr. Vincent Nelson, vice
president of medical affairs for the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, which
gathered data for the report from a database of medical claims of more than 48
million commercially insured Blue Cross customers.
The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association is a
large health insurance industry trade group and lobby and its members include:
Anthem, which operates Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans in 14 states; Health
Care Service Corp. which operates Blues plans in five states; and Florida Blue.
The report calls attention to data that shows
where healthcare providers, insurers and others need to focus to improve
quality and reduce costs. The cost of providing care for Americans with
Alzheimer’s disease has eclipsed a quarter trillion dollars, according to the Alzheimer’s Association, as
baby boomers age and the U.S. healthcare system struggles to find people to
care for this fast-growing population.
“Further education and research is needed to
learn more about early-onset dementia and Alzheimer’s, how to treat these
conditions and what can be done to better prevent diagnoses,” Nelson said.
Here are some other highlights from the Blue
Cross Blue Shield Association report:
·
“Diagnosis rates of
early-onset dementia and Alzheimer’s disease are higher in the East, the South
and parts of the Midwest, while western states show lower rates of diagnosis.”
·
“86% of people with
early-onset Alzheimer’s disease received brain imaging in the year prior to
diagnosis.”
·
“57% of people with
early-onset Alzheimer’s disease filled an antidepressant medication in the year
prior to diagnosis.”
· More than
37,000 “commercially insured Americans between the ages of 30 and 64 were
diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease in 2017.
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