Report: Dementia present in a third of senior deaths

WASHINGTON -- One in three seniors dies with Alzheimer's disease or other types of dementia, according to a new report that highlights the impact the mind-destroying diseases are having on the rapidly aging population.

Dying with Alzheimer's is not the same as dying of it. But even when dementia isn't the direct cause of death, it can be a final blow, speeding decline by interfering with care for heart disease, cancer or other serious illnesses. The report, based on analysis of Medicare data, was released Tuesday by the Alzheimer's Association, which advocates for more research.

"Exacerbated aging" is what Dr. Maria Carrillo, an association vice president, terms the Alzheimer's effect.

Only 30 percent of 70-year-olds who don't have Alzheimer's are expected to die before their 80th birthday. But if they have dementia, 61 percent are expected to die, the report found.

Already, 5.2 million Americans have Alzheimer's or some other form of dementia.

Deaths directly attributed to dementia are growing fast -- nearly 85,000 people died of Alzheimer's in 2011, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated in a separate report.

That death rate rose 39 percent in a decade, even as the CDC found that deaths declined among some of the nation's other top killers -- heart disease, cancer, stroke and diabetes. The reason: Alzheimer's is the only one of those leading killers to have no good treatment. Today's medications only ease some symptoms.

Severe dementia can make it difficult for people to move around or swallow properly. That increases the risk of pneumonia, one of the most commonly identified causes of death among Alzheimer's patients.

Likewise, dementia patients can forget their medications for diabetes, high blood pressure or other illnesses. They may not be able to explain they are feeling symptoms of other ailments such as infections. They're far more likely to be hospitalized than other older adults. That in turn increases their risk of death within the following year.

"You should be getting a sense of the so-called blurred distinction between deaths among people with Alzheimer's and deaths caused by Alzheimer's," said Jennifer Weuve of Chicago's Rush University.