Alzheimer’s in Women and Senior Living Care in Phoenix

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An estimated 5.7 million Americans of all ages have Alzheimer’s. This number includes an estimated 5.5 million people age 65 and older and approximately 200,000 individuals under age 65 who have younger-onset Alzheimer’s. Unfortunately, the number is increasing and increasing very fast. Every 65 seconds someone in the USA develop the disease. It is the 6^th leading cause of death in the United States. Almost two-thirds of Americans with Alzheimer’s are women. Among people age 70, 61 percent of those with Alzheimer’s are expected to die before the age of 80 compared with 30 percent of people without Alzheimer’s — a rate twice as high.

A victim of Alzheimer’s would require round the clock care and support for living a stable life which one can only achieve at an assisted living facility like the award-winning Anthem Senior Living in Phoenix, AZ. Expect for your loved one to receive the best form of senior living in Anthem care and support. The senior health challenges that we work with are dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Lewy Bodies Dementia, high blood pressure, companionship care, wound care, bed bound patients, Feeding Tubes/Picc Lines, heart disease, cancer, Arthritis, respiratory diseases, diabetes, falls, depression, etc.

It has been widely assumed that more women develop Alzheimer’s because women, on average, tend to live 4 or 5 years longer than men do, and aging is the single highest risk factor for developing this debilitating disease. Women live longer with men dying from cardiovascular disease which is one of the top killers of men between the age of 45-65. Across all age groups, men have a higher rate of cardiovascular disease with the death rates being almost three times as high as those for females of the same age. But researchers think there are other factors as well for women to develop Alzheimer’s:

Genetics– As per the Alzheimer’s Association of America, carrying a specific gene means that you have a higher risk than average of developing Alzheimer’s, but this is more true for women than for men.

ApoE-4- Having a gene by the name of ApoE-4 increases the likelihood for developing Alzheimer’s in an individual than others. A female having this gene, one is about twice as likely to develop Alzheimer’s than a female who does not carry this gene. Men with the ApoE-4 gene have only a slightly increased chance of developing Alzheimer’s.

Caring for a person living with a disease like Alzheimer’s can seriously affect one’s physical and mental health, meaning that many American women are risking their own health as they willingly care for their loved one. It is better to leave the task in the hands of professionals who will totally ensure your loved one’s well-being.

Research is still being carried out on why women are at such a greater risk of developing Alzheimer’s than men. More research needs to be done and is being carried out by scientists. Changes in the brain that happen after menopause may make women vulnerable to Alzheimer’s disease, recent research suggests.

The bottom line is Alzheimer’s disease is a condition that affects both men and women and can appear anywhere at any age. It is advisable to take proper measures to keep the disease at bay.