The most expensive disease

Dementia costs America more than any "diseases No. 1"

Misha Bliss, "Russian Bazaar"Senile dementia, Alzheimer's disease and other ailments associated with the deterioration of the brain as we age cost American taxpayers more than all cardiovascular diseases and all types of cancer - the main causes of death in the United States.

According to statistics compiled by the nonprofit organization RAND, about 4,100,000 Americans suffer from dementia in one form or another, and need constant, long-term and expensive medical care. Moreover, this is a very, very conservative estimate: according to the calculations of Alzheimer's Association, this figure may be 1.1 million more.

The healthcare system's expenditures on patients with similar diseases amount to about $109 billion per year. The fact is that the life expectancy of patients after the development of the disease is relatively high, and averages 4-8 years, and sometimes up to 20 years.

In addition, to take care of such people, a highly paid and numerous staff is needed, who must work in several shifts. And, of course, medications that help at least mitigate the symptoms of the disease are very expensive.

For comparison, the cost of treating acute diseases of the cardiovascular system, which at the beginning of the century became the most common cause of death in the United States, is $102 billion per year, and the cost of treating the most severe oncological diseases is $77 billion.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru08.04.2013