Alzheimer’s disease will cost the Canadian healthcare system $16.6 billion in 2031. The government needs to invest in prevention.
Posted at 12:00 p.m.
Not remembering what we ate at lunch, if we shared this moment with someone, if the meal was to our liking… This type of forgetfulness is experienced at one time or another by more than of 160,000 people affected by Alzheimer’s disease or other major neurocognitive disorders (TNCM) in Quebec1.
When the disease progresses to the most advanced stages, the affected person’s entire life seems to slip through their fingers, one memory at a time, until constant help is needed to eat. , wash, dress.
The upheaval in the lives of caregivers is therefore very real. Too often, they exhaust themselves with the task, not to mention the pain they feel to see the person they knew and loved quietly fade away. Up to 45% of caregivers say they feel distress1.
Pressure on an already damaged system
With the aging of the population and in the absence of curative treatment, it is anticipated that cases of Alzheimer’s disease or other CMNDs will double to reach 300,000 people by 2040.1 and that direct costs will reach $16.6 billion by 20312which will necessarily lead to pressure on the health system.
This health system, which has been under attack for more than two years, and which, like all economic sectors, is hit hard by the shortage of workers.
What state will it be in 10 years from now if the waves of COVID-19 or other pandemics continue to inundate it? How will we be able to take care of all the people affected by TNCM?
Until a curative treatment is discovered, prevention remains the most promising strategy to deal with the growing issue and thus reduce the heavy human and financial consequences for Quebec society.
This is why, during this election period, we ask that the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease and other TNCMs be made a public health priority.
Recent scientific data tells us that it is possible to put the odds on your side to keep a healthy brain, by adopting healthy lifestyle habits. In fact, up to 40% of cases of Alzheimer’s disease and other major neurocognitive disorders are attributable to modifiable risk factors, a large part of which is linked to lifestyle.3.
Recommendations
We therefore ask future elected officials to consider the following six recommendations, developed by researchers Isabelle Lussier and Sylvie Belleville as well as the other members of the Lucilab scientific committee4 :
1. Ensure the collection of data on the prevalence and incidence of Alzheimer’s disease and other major neurocognitive disorders within the Quebec population, and make this data accessible, in order to paint a clear picture of the situation in the province and to be able to follow its evolution;
2. Evaluate the direct costs on the health network and the indirect costs, particularly for caregivers, of Alzheimer’s disease for Quebec society and analyze the socio-economic impact of the proven interventions identified;
3. Increase funding for Alzheimer’s disease prevention research to establish the most evidence-based interventions to preserve cognitive health and reduce the risk of cognitive decline in the aging population;
4. Actively participate in public awareness and information initiatives on cognitive health risk and protection factors, for example by contributing to the production and dissemination of quality educational content on the role of healthy eating habits. life ;
5. Support the development of innovative solutions (eg, technological tools) and make them available to the public to facilitate the adoption and maintenance of healthy lifestyles;
6. Broaden access to professionals specially trained to accompany and support adults and seniors in their process of adopting a healthy lifestyle.
* Co-signatories: Sylvie Belleville, Full Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Montreal, Laboratory Director at the University Institute of Geriatrics of Montreal (IUGM), Holder of the Canada Research Chair in Cognitive Neuroscience of Aging and Plasticity cerebral and president of the scientific committee of Lucilab; Isabelle Lussier, director, research and intervention, at Lucilab.