Report claims that 18 percent of Boomers will suffer age-related cognitive issues

CHICAGO According to a new report entitled “2008 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures,” about 18 percent, or 14 million, of 79 million American who are considered baby boomers can expect to develop Alzheimer’s disease or some other type of dementia in their lifetime, according to USA Today.

Age is the single biggest risk factor for the disease, with the likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s doubling every five years after the age of 65. The report states that, one out of eight boomers will be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, the most common type of dementia, at some point. If no cure for Alzheimer’s is found, the nation will be faced with a half-million new cases of Alzheimer’s in 2010 and nearly a million per year by the middle of the century.

Also, the report notes that as of now, 5.2 million people have the disease and that as many as 500,000 Americans are diagnosed with it before the age of 65.

Healthcare costs play a major factor in Alzheimer’s as well. In 2005, Medicare spent $91 billion on Alzheimer’s and other dementias, and spending could jump to $160 billion by 2010 and $189 billion by 2015.

Treatments that could delay the age of onset for Alzheimer’s could save Medicare billions.