Cognitive Impairment:
Fear of loosing your mind 2 times higher then a physical loss
Can the United States afford the growing estimate of $1.1 Trillion in 2050?
~ Cynthia G. Creel
April 13, 2013
My Story:
As the car slammed into the side of my door crushing it in a full 18 inches. My first thought was will I survive? The second was How could I have such poor judgment? I have traveled this route 1000’s of times and crossed this intersection safely, how did I miss seeing that car?
I knew I had checked both directions carefully, obviously not careful enough. I also realized there were many factors that influenced my choice: just before sunrise, mass dark cell of clouds over head, opposing car primer gray blending into the street.
All of this happened about 1 year before I felt like I was going to have a heart attack and my blood lab work confirmed that I was in a life threading situation if I didn't change.
I look back an know I had impaired cognitive power, I didn't know it back then. I just knew I didn't feel as well as I should, tired, no energy, just wanted to sit all the time, loss of memory, and the list goes on and on and on. In the long run it cost me more money than I will ever know and almost cost me my life.
Cognitive health vs. Cognitive impairment:
There is much that could be improved in the government. The government is there to help the nation and a step in the right direction is tracking all the different issues that create havoc in this country and the world. The top 15 reasons from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHH) (1) people die include heart disease, cancer, strokes, Alzheimer’s disease, kidney disease, lung diseases, diabetes, liver disease, Parkinson’s Disease and the list goes on and on. Yet in all of this mess the life expectancy remains the same for 2011 of 78.7 years as in 2010.
What if we measured life differently not by the amount of years we live, but our cognitive abilities how would the picture change? Along with deaths and illnesses the United States government had tracked for many years giving a clear picture of when, why and how death affects us as a nation and state. The CDC is now tracking cognitive abilities according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (3) cognitive impairment (CI) is seen as a public health challenge and can be mild to severe affecting memory, learning new things, concentrating, or making decisions that affect their everyday life. The could lead to the lack of understanding of the importance of something, or abilities like writing or even talking that may lead a person unable to be live independently.
The most recognized CI is Alzheimer’s disease (AD) with estimates of 5.1 million Americans aged 65 or older being affected. If nothing changes the estimates are expected to go up to 13.2 million by 2050.
The caregiver of a person with CI has been affected negatively also with higher levels of depression, anxiety with health negatively affected and raising the risk of death. All of these factors put an undo strain on government programs like Medicaid which is expected to have increasing responsibility with the aging population of the United States.
Americans are fearful of loosing their minds. Research American survey results show a 2 times higher fear of CI vs. a being coming physically disabled. An additional Survey showed 60% of adults were very or somewhat worried about CI.
The number one goal in helping stop this epidemic of CI is to have older adults remain independent for as long as helping to decrease the costs of care for higher levels of CI. Another report from the CDC (2) states people with CI from AD and other dementia create a cost from health care, long-term care, and hospice are $183 billion in 2011 that is expected to increase to $1.1 trillion in 2050 (in 2011 dollars).
Final thoughts:
With a bulge in the population from the baby boomer’s has created a population that is becoming older and a more needy population dependent on others such as family, friends, churches, hospitals or government. All of this is straining our resources to the maximum creating an excessive amount of strain on the government resources, churches, communities, business, friends and families. The best defense to helping create a strong nation with reasonable needs it to discover a new world. Help yourself, help the world, step on to the Path of True Health and vote with your dollars to create a world you will love to live in. I do and I like the world I am creating. Together we can create a better life.
By Design ~ “Life is good By Design”
Photo creation by Cynthia G. Creel all rights reserved ©2013
Beet leaves from the By Design Farm
all rights reserved ©2013 written permission is needed to duplicate
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of By Design or Cynthia G. Creel. Consultation of a medical professional is highly recommended before any changes are considered. This article is not saying anyone person in a leadership position is unhealthy or healthy, it is just a possibly of many and is only speaking in general terms. .Note: No company mentioned in this article is considered to serve “healthy or unhealthy” food, any examples given was only used as an example of how business works though their history and public information. The focus is only to help explain a idea. Statements and conclusions of any study authors that are presented are solely those of the study authors and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of Cynthia G. Creel or any means the information is published. There is no representation or warranty as to their accuracy or reliability.
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Sources:
(1) http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr61/nvsr61_06.pdf
(2) http://www.cdc.gov/aging/pdf/HBIBook_508.pdf
(3) http://www.cdc.gov/aging/pdf/cognitive_impairment/cogimp_ca_final.pdf
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