The Rising Tide of Dementia in Manitoba

Stats and Facts of Dementia in Manitoba:

• Currently, more than 19,550 Manitobans have Alzheimer’s disease of another form of dementia. If nothing changes, more than 34,000 Manitobans will have dementia by the year 2038.
• One in three Manitobans have a family member or close personal friend with Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia.
• Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia making up 65% percentage of all forms of dementia.
  The total economic burden of dementia in Manitoba is 843 million dollars and this number is expected to rise to 4.4 billion by the year 2038.
• Today, caregivers spend over 9 million hours of informal unpaid care. By the year 2038, the hours of informal unpaid care are expected to exceed 22 million.
• This year alone, there were over 4,300 Manitobans over the age of 65 who were newly diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia. In 2038, the number of new cases of dementia in Manitoba is expected to be over 9,350.
• Sixty-four percent of Manitobans with Alzheimer’s disease are women.

The first wave of Canadian baby boomers turns 65 this year. Although age is the single largest risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease, a new Alzheimer Society study reveals this group is unprepared.

• When asked to identify signs of Alzheimer’s disease, 23 per cent of boomers don’t know any of the early signs 50 per cent recognize memory loss as a warning sign, but didn’t mention any other critical symptoms such as changes in behaviour, personality, reasoning and judgment.
• Most boomers are familiar with Alzheimer’s common hallmark of not recognizing familiar faces and objects, but less than half are aware of other life-altering changes that occur in the later stages of the disease, including hallucinations and total dependency on others for basic care.
• Respondents are unfamiliar with controllable Alzheimer risk factors like obesity, diabetes, heart disease and chronic depression.

Click HERE to visit the Alzheimer Society of Manitoba's official website.