Prevalence

"1 in 3 Americans knows someone with Alzheimer's disease," Mayo Clinic.

Sobering. Is this like autism in that it is getting more prevalent? It seems to me that is true. When we debated as psychologists whether autism was more prevalent or were we just better at diagnosing it, it seemed clear to me that perhaps both were true. That seems accurate for dementia too. I currently know more people with some form of dementia than I did during my entire childhood. A nephew suggested that it is because we are living longer, but my adult relatives lived to ripe old ages, well into their 80's, without any form of dementia. So, that does not seem to be the reason for the increase either. Perhaps with so many people experiencing some type of dementia the research will be better funded. We, as individuals, can help fund research we believe will help.