Facts About Alzheimer Disease
Alzheimer disease is becoming more common as the general population gets older and lives longer. Alzheimer disease usually affects people older than 65. A small number of people have early-onset Alzheimer disease, which starts when they are in their 30s or 40s.
People live for an average of 8 years after their symptoms appear. But the disease can progress quickly in some people and slowly in others. Some people live as long as 20 years with the disease.
No one knows what causes Alzheimer disease. Genes, environment, lifestyle, and overall health may all play a role.
Life Expectancy By Stage Of Alzheimers/dementia
It can be difficult to figure out if a loved one is officially diagnosed with Alzheimers or dementia, especially when symptoms may be murky. In general, symptoms may change or worsen over time, even before any official dementia-related diagnosis.
If you are concerned about early-onset Alzheimers or other types of dementia, you can speak with your physician and review your medical history and the concerns you may have about memory loss and other symptoms. After that, your physician will decide whether you require imaging tests or CT scans, or an MRI to get a better look at your brain for an Alzheimers or dementia marker.
FYI: Finding the right medical alert system for a loved one with dementia can be challenging. Read my list of medical alert systems for dementia to learn more about how these devices can help.
Another way to get an overview of the stages of dementia is the Global Deterioration Scale, a measurement and assessment tool for dementia. Developed by Dr. Barry Reisberg, the Global Deterioration Scale gauges the various stages and levels of severity for Alzheimers and other types of degenerative dementia. It also helps caregivers and individuals have a better understanding of the various stages of dementia.
Typically, an individual who receives an Alzheimers diagnosis can expect to live eight to 12 more years, and some people exceed this. It all varies based on the individuals underlying health conditions, lifestyle, early diagnosis, and other factors.
How Can Healthcare Professionals Help At This Stage
Healthcare professionals can explain these changes so you understand what is happening.
Healthcare professionals can also take steps to reduce the persons pain or distress, often using medication.
If the person cant swallow, then medication can be provided through patches on the skin, small injections or syringe pumps that provide a steady flow of medication through a small needle under the persons skin. Speak to a GP or another health professional about this.
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Stage : Severe Cognitive Declinemoderately Severe Dementia
Stage 6a
At this stage, the ability to perform basic activities of daily life becomes compromised. Functionally, five successive substages are identifiable. Persons initially in stage 6a, in addition to having lost the ability to choose their clothing without assistance, begin to require assistance in putting on their clothing properly. Unless supervised, the person with Alzheimers disease may put their clothing on backward, they may have difficulty putting their arm in the correct sleeve, or they may dress in the wrong sequence.
The total duration of the stage of moderately severe Alzheimers disease is approximately 2.5 years in otherwise healthy persons.
Stage 6b
At approximately the same point in the evolution of AD, but generally just a little later in the temporal sequence, AD persons lose the ability to bathe without assistance . Characteristically, the earliest and most common deficit in bathing is difficulty adjusting the temperature of the bath water. Once the caregiver adjusts the temperature of the bath water, the AD person can still potentially otherwise bathe independently. As this stage evolves, additional deficits occur in bathing and dressing independently. In this 6b substage, AD persons generally develop deficits in other modalities of daily hygiene such as properly brushing their teeth.
Stages 6c, 6d, 6e
How Do You Know What Stage Of Alzheimer’s Disease A Loved One Is In
The stages of Alzheimers disease presented in this post offer a reasonable framework from which to observe symptoms and understand the progression of the disease. Since there is no medical consensus for Alzheimers stages, as there is with cancer, it is important for caregivers to be aware of the individual symptoms and situation that their patient or loved one is experiencing. While healthcare providers may refer to a patients condition as late or early stage, any specific stage is less important than the context and understanding of what this means for care going forward.
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Stage : Mild Cognitive Impairment
Persons at this stage manifest deficits which are subtle, but which are noted by persons who are closely associated with the person with mild cognitive impairment. The subtle deficits may become manifest in diverse ways. For example, a person with mild cognitive impairment may noticeably repeat queries. The capacity to perform executive functions also becomes compromised. Commonly, for persons who are still working in complex occupational settings, job performance may decline. For those required to master new job skills, such as a computer or other machinery, decrements in these capacities may become evident.
MCI persons who are not employed, but who plan complex social events, such as dinner parties, may manifest declines in their ability to organize such events. This may be an early stage of Alzheimers, however, it is important for the person to seek medical help as soon as possible, to determine if a broad variety of medical conditions may be causing or contributing to the persons difficulties. Blood tests and an MRI of the brain should be obtained to assist in determining if the individual has MCI due to Alzheimers and whether there are other causes or contributing conditions to the persons cognitive decline.
Some MCI persons may manifest concentration deficits. Many persons with these symptoms begin to experience anxiety, which may be overtly evident.
Age When Diagnosis Is Determined
The age at diagnosis, too, is important because an older individual may already be frail and vulnerable to additional life-shortening accidents, diseases, or infections. Life expectancy after a diagnosis of dementia decreases with increasing age for example, an average person diagnosed with Alzheimers disease between ages 70 and 79 can expect to survive seven more years, while diagnosis after age 90 is associated with an expected survival of only 2.8 additional years.
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Factors That Determine Longevity
One study of 438 patients in the U.K. found that the main factors that determine how long a person lives after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease are age, gender, and level of disability. Here are the main research findings:
- Women lived an average of 4.6 years after diagnosis, and men lived 4.1 years.
- People diagnosed when under age 70 lived 10.7 years compared to 3.8 years for people over 90 when diagnosed.
- Patients who were frail at the time of diagnosis did not live as long, even after adjusting for age.
- Overall, the average survival time for someone in the study diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia was 4.5 years.
People With Dementia Have Shortened Life Expectancies
People with and other forms of live, on average, about four and a half years after their condition is diagnosed. This is based mainly on people in their 80s and 90s who have recently developed Alzheimers. In general, people with Alzheimers have about one-half the life expectancy, after , than people who do not have Alzheimers. The present findings are from a large collaborative study group in the United Kingdom. The findings appeared in the British Medical Journal.
The findings may help those who care for a loved one with Alzheimers disease to better plan for the future. The results highlight that dementia is a chronic condition, and that people with Alzheimers will likely need care for a number of years after their diagnosis. At the same time, the average survival time is under five years, with wide variations depending on age and physical condition at the time of diagnosis.
Researchers at the University of Cambridge followed more than 13,000 men and women, aged 65 and up, for 14 years. During that time, 438 of the study participants developed Alzheimers disease or , and more than 80 percent of those with dementia died.
The median age at death was 90 for women and 87 for men. Average survival times varied widely, however, depending on the age at diagnosis. Those who were diagnosed at a younger age, from 65 to 69, lived an average of 10.7 years after diagnsosis. Those diagnosed in their 90s, on the other hand, lived an average of 3.8 years.
A Growing Problem
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Stage : Moderate Decline
During this period, the problems in thinking and reasoning that you noticed in stage 3 get more obvious, and new issues appear. Your friend or family member might:
- Forget details about themselves
- Have trouble putting the right date and amount on a check
- Forget what month or season it is
- Have trouble cooking meals or even ordering from a menu
- Struggle to use the telephone
- Not understand what is said to them
- Struggle to do tasks with multiple steps like cleaning the house.
You can help with everyday chores and their safety. Make sure they aren’t driving anymore, and that no one tries to take advantage of them financially.
Lewy Body Dementia Prognosis
Lewy body dementia is a form of dementia characterized by the development of abnormal deposits in the brain. People with Lewy body dementia have trouble with movement as well as cognitive decline. Thinking problems generally show up before movement problems. As Lewy body dementia progresses, affected individuals may also experience visual hallucinations and sleep problems.
Life expectancy for a person with Lewy body dementia is approximately 2 to 8 years after the onset of noticeable symptoms.
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Alzheimers And Dementia Life Expectancy Calculator
Following a dementia diagnosis, its understandable that many individuals want to know the answer to the question: How long do I have to live? The answer might be scary, but understanding the way cognitive diseases progress will ultimately help you plan your approaches to health care and budgeting.
As there are many different types of dementia, the average life expectancy varies greatly. When you factor in underlying health conditions, access to care, and early diagnosis, the answer can be somewhat hard to pin down. Because of this, it is best to use the information in this article as a reference or guide instead of a definitive answer.
Information from this chart was obtained from Alzheimers.org.
Factors That Affect Life Expectancy With Dementia
As with life expectancy in general, many factors affect the expected length of survival after a diagnosis of dementia. If we include everyone of all ages, average life expectancy is decreased by almost nine years by dementia, but this number can be further refined based on individual characteristics. For example, an individuals sex is a factor affecting survival after dementia, just as it affects life expectancy in general. At all ages, expected survival after a dementia diagnosis is about 1.5 years longer for women than for men. Scientists are researching the biological basis for this, and it may also be explained in part by differences in social norms .
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Mortality And Life Expectancy
Using the 12-digit personal identity number assigned to each resident in Sweden, all 1,258 SATS patients were investigated with the help of the Swedish population register regarding whether they were still alive on December 31, 2012. If not, the date of death was recorded.
The probable remaining length of life for each participant according to their gender and age at baseline was obtained from Statistics Sweden, based on life tables for the periods of 1993-1997 , 1998-2002 , 2003-2007 , and 2008-2012 , depending on the individual’s year of inclusion in the SATS. The patient’s actual survival time was compared with his/her expected life span relative to the gender- and age-matched general population. This unique approach allows the estimation of the decrease in the mean number of years of life span in association with different risk factors such as age at diagnosis, APOE genotype, and stages of AD.
Life Expectancy After An Alzheimers Disease Diagnosis
James M. Ellison, MD, MPH
Swank Center for Memory Care and Geriatric Consultation, ChristianaCare
Learn about the many factors that affect average life expectancy after a diagnosis of Alzheimers disease.
Genevieve* asked if she could speak privately with me after her mothers evaluation session and diagnosis of Alzheimers disease. I didnt want to ask this in front of her, she said, but my brother and I want to knowhow much time does she have left? Life expectancy after a diagnosis of Alzheimers disease, while uncomfortable to discuss, can be important information for patients and families to have. Ill describe what we know about this topic, and some of the factors that affect survival with and without dementia. Please bear in mind that this information is based on statistical averages, and there can be individual variations in the disease and a person’s resilience to it.
*The name and details were changed to protect privacy.
The most honest answer to Genevieves question may be, It depends. After a diagnosis of Alzheimers disease or another dementia, people can live for months to years, depending on individual circumstances. Its been shown that factors like age, race, genetics, health background, socioeconomic status, and education influence the life expectancy of large numbers of people with Alzheimers. However, every individuals disease is different, and may not follow the average course.
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Making A Dementia Care Plan
Planning for dementia care is an important step to helping you or a loved one feel prepared for the future. While no life expectancy calculator is exact, it can give you an idea of what to expect before and after your dementia diagnosis. Fortunately, there are many steps that you can take to help plan for dementia care and put your mind at ease.
The first step is to speak with your physician and talk about your symptoms. Once you receive an official diagnosis, youll be able to plan. An early diagnosis can help you get a head start on the planning and dementia process in the event that your symptoms may worsen. You can also take this time to research and educate yourself on local and national dementia care resources, and familiarize yourself with the various stages and symptoms you might experience.
Did You Know: If youre looking to care for a loved one with my dementia, you should read my guide: Caring for a Parent With Dementia at Home.
Empowering yourself with resources is an important step to dementia care planning. Its also a good idea to plan around your support system and include them in your decisions. If youre a caregiver, its a good idea to delegate tasks and go over a care plan so that you dont experience caregiver burnout.
A general caregiving plan can include daily tasks, housework/cleaning, medication management, and other important aspects for someone with dementia.
Stage : Normal Outward Behavior
Alzheimerâs disease usually starts silently, with brain changes that begin years before anyone notices a problem. When your loved one is in this early phase, they won’t have any symptoms that you can spot. Only a PET scan, an imaging test that shows how the brain is working, can reveal whether they have Alzheimer’s.
As they move into the next six stages, your friend or relative with Alzheimer’s will see more and more changes in their thinking and reasoning.
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What Are The Symptoms Of The Final Stages Of Alzheimers
The final stages of Alzheimers impair the affected person significantly, making them unable to perform daily functions independently.
The signs and symptoms of the final stages of Alzheimers include:
- Being unable to walk around
- Difficulty speaking or expressing through words
- Needing assistance with routine activities, such as eating
What Causes Alzheimer’s Disease To Progress So Quickly
The progression of Alzheimers disease varies widely between individuals, with most people living with the condition for between 3 and 11 years after the initial diagnosis. In some cases, people may survive for more than 20 years. When Alzheimers is detected early, there are possible treatments that can help to slow the progression of the disease and contribute to a longer life expectancy.
It is therefore crucial to plan for the future and follow the progression of the disease through each stage. Alzheimers disease first begins with physical changes in the brain. This can happen at a gradual pace before any noticeable symptoms appear. In fact, this pre-clinical Alzheimers disease stage can begin 10 to 15 years before any symptoms appear.
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Beyond Memory Loss: How To Handle The Other Symptoms Of Alzheimer’s
There is a lot of talk about the emotional pain patients and caregivers suffer when a loved one loses memories to Alzheimers. But what about the other symptoms? Here are tips from a Johns Hopkins expert on what to watch for and how to manage.
#TomorrowsDiscoveries: From Dysfunctional Cells to Disease Dr. Rong Li
Dr. Li and her team investigate how cells consolidate their damaged proteins and prevent them from spreading freely, in order to understand how to better treat diseases such as Alzheimers and ALS. Another of their interests is how chromosomes are divided up when one cell becomes two. Learning more about how the process can go wrong could lend insight into cancer development.