In the United States the fifth leading cause of death in people over the age of 65 years is Alzheimer’s disease (Alzheimer’s Association, 2015). The Bulletin of the World Health Organisation predicts that by 2050 the number of people who are over the age of 60 years will amount to 2 billion, which makes up 22% of the population of the world (Mavrodaris, A., Powell, J., & Thorogood, M.,2013).
The annual global cost of caring for people with dementia is estimated to be $605 billion, which equates to 1% of the world’s gross domestic product (Alzheimer’s Statistics, 2015). Due to the physical and emotional stress of caregiving, caregivers who looked after people with dementia in 2014 included added costs of health …show more content…
2009). However, genetics, pharmacology, lifestyle factors, neurochemistry, biomarkers, or neuroimaging may also be contributing factors in the development of depression and dementia (Ganguli, M. 2009). Studies to determine whether or not mild cognitive impairment increases the rate at which dementia develops, is inconsistent, but cerebrovascular factors, inflammatory markers, monoamine deficiency and the severity of plaques and neurofibrillary tangles are contributing factors (Enache et al. 2011). As the severity of dementia increases, the prevalence of developing major depression decreases (Muliyala, K.P & Varghese, M.