On LI, 55,000 reported Alzheimer's patients

The Numbers

An estimated 33 million people worldwide have Alzheimer's disease. Of these, an estimated 5.3 million are in the United States, 330,000 in New York State, and 55,000 on Long Island. Between 5 and 10 percent of these cases are early or young-onset Alzheimer's. These numbers are only the diagnosed cases.

In the United States, someone is diagnosed with Alzheimer's every 70 seconds. By 2050, there will be an estimated 11 million to 16 million people in the United States suffering from the disease. Alzheimer's is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States and costs the country an estimated $148 billion each year in medical expenses.

Nationwide, there are 9.9 million unpaid caregivers taking care of Alzheimer's patients. In 2008, these caregivers provided 8.5 billion hours of care valued at $94 billion a year. According to a 2002 study, it costs businesses $36.5 billion in indirect costs for employees taking care of a person with dementia.

As many as 1.4 million of these caregivers are considered "long-distance" caregivers, living an hour or more away from the patient.

In 2008, the average cost of home medical care was $144 for an eight-hour day. The average cost of adult day services was $64 a day. The average cost of an assisted living facility was $36,372 a year. The average cost of a nursing facility was between $69,715 to $77,380 a year.

According to a 2004 study, the average per-person payment that year for health care and long-term-care services for Medicare beneficiaries with Alzheimer's or dementia is $33,007 - three times that of a person without dementia.

As of 2005, Medicare costs for beneficiaries with dementia was $91 billion. It cost $21 billion in 2005 in state and federal Medicaid costs for nursing home care for those with dementia.

From a 2009 report of The Alzheimer's Association,

headquartered in Chicago.