New national data shows a sharp increase in the number of people diagnosed with early onset dementia in recent years—especially in Delaware.
Blue Cross Blue Shield’s latest Health of America Report counts a 200% increase in the diagnosis of early onset dementia or Alzheimer’s nationally between the years 2013 and 2017.
This includes a more-than 300% increase in diagnoses among the 30 to 44 and 45 to 54-year-old age groups. The average age of a person living in the US with either of the diseases is now 49.
Local data shows Delaware’s rate to have almost quadrupled—jumping from 3 to 11.4 diagnoses per 10,000 population.
Dr. James Ellison is Chair of Memory Care and Geriatrics at ChristianaCare. He says the increases have less to do with more people walking around with dementia, and more to do with the publication of a diagnostic manual the same year the study started. That manual made the criteria for a diagnosis more lenient.
“I think we could say for sure that people with much milder degrees of cognitive impairment were diagnosed with dementia after 2013 and everyone’s awareness had been heightened,” said Ellison.
Ellison adds there are other reasons as well, including a federal allocation of funds to launch statewide plans to address the diseases.
“Delaware was right out there—one of the first states to develop an excellent state plan for detection and management of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias,” he said. "So the population in Delaware was helped to be aware of this, and, perhaps, brought their concerns to their doctors more readily."
Ellison says this plan brought about new resources for families made available by the state Division of Services for Aging and Adults with Physical Disabilities (SAAPD).
He points to the Division’s 24-hour hotline and its website decard.org.
