Alzheimer's Disease: Psychosocial Aspects for Caregivers

Peter P. Vitaliano & Heather Young

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is one of the most significant health issues in late life, affecting the health and well-being of both individuals and their families. Currently, the estimates of prevalence of AD in the United States range from 2.7% to 11.2% for people 65 years of age or older, or approximately 1.5 to 6.1 million individuals. Importantly, 75% of all dementia victims who are 65 years of age or older have AD. Estimates of the direct costs of AD, including nursing homes, long-term mental hospitals, paid home care, physician care, acute hospital care, and caregiver medical care, exceed $60 billion per year in the United States. Yet the costs of AD extend beyond the financial toll. AD is an age-related disease that involves the gradual onset of progressive global intellectual and functional deterioration. It is diagnosed primarily using the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-IV ...

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