PBS documentary on Dementia

Click here for important information:

http://www.secondopinion-tv.org/episode/dementia

Percentages of people who have some form of dementia (but only about half of them have Alzheimer’s disease):

• Less than 2 % of people age 65-69
• About 5 % of people age 75-79
• About 20 % of people age 85-89
• About 33% (one third) of people over 90

It is estimated that about 4.5 million Americans have Alzheimer’s disease.  This includes:

• About 5 % of people over 65
• About 20 % of people over 80
• About 30 % of people over 90

“Aging is often accompanied by some mild loss of memory for words and names, some slowing down of mental processes, and some trouble focusing attention. But true dementia – an obvious decline in mental ability, including confusion, more than mild memory loss, and personality change – is not an inevitable part of aging.  For example, occasionally forgetting where you put the keys is not a sign of dementia; putting the keys in the refrigerator may be. “