Alzheimer’s Disease in the Future
It’s a growing crisis that needs to be addressed
As our population continues to increase in age, the number of people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease (A.D) will also rapidly grow. By 2050, the amount of individuals with A.D is expected to triple. So, what can we do to address this?
Below are three simple things that can be done to prevent this massive spike in Alzheimer’s Disease from ever taking place in the United States.
1. We can prevent A.D in the first place by Improving food-based education
In the United States, most students are taught very little about which food(s) are healthy to eat regularly. As such, should it really be surprising that we are one of the most obese nations on the planet? If we want to reduce the frequency of Alzheimer’s Disease, we have to start with food-based education. When it comes to this debilitating neurodegenerative disorder, the saying “you are what you eat” has some degree of truth. Diet can play a critical role in the development of A.D, with people who consume a fatty, sugar-rich diet being the most likely to get Alzheimer’s. Furthermore, by addressing diet education, we can directly lower our incredibly high obesity rate. Fun fact: obesity is also strongly associated with neurodegenerative disorders, in addition to a significantly reduced lifespan. By teaching people at a young age the importance of food choice for long-term health, we can dramatically boost life outcomes.
2. We can halt the increase in Alzheimer’s by encouraging healthy lifestyle choices in our school system
Lifestyle is one of the single largest contributors to Alzheimer’s Disease. Leading a sedentary life can put you at a massively higher risk of developing the disorder. In most public schools in the United States, this is not actively taught. In fact, American physical education programs have routinely failed to either whip students into shape or cement the importance of a healthy lifestyle in them. Furthermore, America’s school system does not effectively distill into students the health significance of connection in an era of unprecedented loneliness. At the moment, our curriculum fails to emphasize the importance of social and physical well-being of students. This can be seen in the markedly increased levels of depression and anxiety rates among today’s teens, in addition to their growing level of sleep deprivation. By teaching our students the importance behind having healthy lifestyle choices, we effectively equip them with the tools to handle tomorrow’s challenges and save lives, as “The suicide rate for persons aged 10–19 years…increased by 56% between 2007 and 2016.” In addition, encouragement of students to participate in healthy lifestyle activities can have profound medical and cognitive benefits.
3. We can prevent late A.D diagnoses by making cognitive exams a part of routine medical visits
Even in 2022, cognitive exams are not frequently administered to elderly patients in a doctor’s setting of care. By establishing routine cognitive examination within patients, doctors can effectively diagnose, identify, and act upon A.D in patients potentially before serious symptoms arrive. Sadly, while 82% of elderly patients would like to have their memory routinely examined, only 16% of doctors actually implemented routine cognitive surveys. This shocking lack of cognitive examination can distinctly contribute to prolonged, unnecessary suffering for many patients who will be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s too late. Because cognitive examinations have the ability to save lives, they would benefit from being more widely implemented into the medical field.
Concluding Thoughts
Alzheimer’s Disease is going to rapidly increase in the near future to become one of the globe’s most debilitating diseases. However, there are options at our disposal that could prevent this from happening. By emphasizing quality education that focuses on the significance of healthy diet and lifestyle activities, we can reduce the number of patients who will be diagnosed with A.D in the future astronomically. Furthermore, by improving the accessibility of patients to cognitive examinations, it may be possible to administer stage-specific treatment options to patients who have Alzheimer’s Disease before it is too late.
