Alzheimer's Disease Linked to Physical Abuse

    PHOENIX, AZ, August 13, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ -- When the elderly suffer loss of memory due to Alzheimer's, they are particularly vulnerable to nursing home abuse. Unfortunately, nursing home abuse of Alzheimer's patients happens more frequently than you would think. Alzheimer's patients require a heightened level of care than the rest of the nursing home population. When a nursing home fails to provide such care, accidents, injuries and wrongful death can occur.

According to the Alzheimer's Association, from 2000 to 2006, Alzheimer's disease resulted in a 46.1 increase in deaths and is the 7th leading cause of death in the United States. In Arizona, the numbers of Alzheimer's patients have gone up exponentially and are expected to rapidly rise by the year 2050. This increase in Alzheimer's will have a dynamic affect on the nation's healthcare system and the caregivers of those patients, who struggle to manage their difficult lives.

Alzheimer's Disease Facts

As prevalence rates climb for Alzheimer's Disease, researchers are racing to find a cure. Preventing or delaying the disease seems to be the best answer for now, so knowing the facts about Alzheimer's is important for everyone. Those facts include:

- Women are more likely to have Alzheimer's and other dementias than are men. Estimated lifetime risk is one in five for women and one in 10 for men.
- 14 percent of all people, aged 71 and older have dementia.
- Those individuals with less education appear to be at higher risk for Alzheimer's. This may be due in part to the fact that those with higher education have a "cognitive reserve" that is drawn upon once Alzheimer's begins.

Understanding the Link Between Physical Abuse and Alzheimer's Patients

When an elderly adult can no longer advocate for his or her own needs, friends and family members must step in and be an advocate for nursing home rights. Caring for an Alzheimer's patient takes special understanding and without that understanding, patients are at risk of physical abuse. Behavioral disturbances that are common with this disease include hitting, biting, kicking or punching. These behaviors can occur three ways:

- Patient-to-caregiver
- Caregiver-to-patient
- Mutually violent behaviors inflicted on both

Those with impaired mental faculties should be treated with no less respect than those among the average nursing home population.

To learn more about physical abuse of Alzheimer's patients, please visit the website of nursing home abuse attorneys Cullan & Cullan, M.D., J.D. in the Phoenix and Scottsdale areas of Arizona at www.stopnursinghomeabuse.org.

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