SAN ANTONIO - – When it comes to the highest prevalence of Alzheimer’s and dementia across Texas, Bexar County comes in seventh.
This brand new information comes from the Alzheimer’s Association in the first-ever report that lists numbers by county instead of by state.
One of the people included in that statistic is Byron Cordes’s mother-in-law, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s seven years ago.
“My mother-in-law was extremely organized, military wife, hosted huge events. She started to kind of repeat herself. She would search for names. She couldn’t figure out who some people were,” Cordes said.
Cordes is a caregiver for his mother-in-law.
Far before her diagnosis, he was volunteering with the Alzheimer’s Association, using his social work profession to help lead educational seminars.
Cordes is also on the board of the Alzheimer’s Association, but professionally, he is the Aging Life Care Manager at SAGE Care Management.
In all those capacities, he knows the new data released by the Alzheimer’s Association is crucial.
The disease prevalence numbers list the percentage of people over 65 estimated to have Alzheimer’s or dementia.
For the first time, they’ve been broken down by county instead of by state, offering a closer look at the areas needing the most help.
“For Bexar County, 13% of those over the age of 65 are currently living with dementia or with Alzheimer’s disease. That equates to about 33,000 people,” said Greg Sciuto, the executive director of the Alzheimer’s Association of San Antonio and South Texas.
That large number landed Bexar County with the seventh largest prevalence in the state.
The top 10 counties with a population of 10,000 or more individuals age 65 or older with the highest Alzheimer’s prevalence rates are the following:
- El Paso (15.0%)
- Webb (15.0%)
- Hidalgo (14.8%)
- Cameron (14.6%)
- Jefferson (13.8%)
- Nueces (13.2%)
- Bexar (13.0%)
- Victoria (12.7%)
- Dallas (12.6%)
- Midland (12.4%)
“It’s validation of what we’ve already known. Those of Hispanic and Latino descent are one-and-a-half times more likely to develop the disease. Our demographics pretty much guaranteed that there’s a higher prevalence here,” Sciuto said.
Sciuto said what’s important now is what’s done with this information.
“It just highlights the need for better diagnostic tools, better training for law enforcement officials, for physicians, for those that might interact with somebody that hasn’t been diagnosed,” he said.
He hopes public health departments will allocate resources to this serious and deadly disease, bringing more care and education to high-prevalence communities like Bexar County.
Cordes believes there needs to be an emphasis on physicians and their role in early diagnosis.
“We have a lack of geriatricians. We have a lack of neurologists and psychiatrists. That’s nationwide. So trying to get that diagnosis is sometimes very hard,” he said.
Cordes said because getting into specialists can be difficult, we need to be training primary care physicians to better understand dementia and how to diagnose it.
There is also a problem of getting patients to the doctor in the first place.
“We find people who skip care. I think Alzheimer’s has become the new taboo silent killer. People don’t want to admit it. People don’t want to talk about it,” Cordes said.
Anyone with memory loss that interferes with their daily activities should see a doctor and ask about dementia.
Cordes is trying to help break the stigma so people like his mother-in-law can get care as early as possible.
“There is help out there, and you’re not alone,” Cordes said.
Anyone who wants information about diagnosis, treatments and even caregiving can visit ALZ.org.
“We provide support groups, community education. We have resources available to those that are experiencing the disease. We help folks understand how to communicate better with someone with dementia, understanding the kind of behaviors that often come with dementia,” Sciuto said.
If you’re a caregiver and are interested in resources, there is an ALZ and Dementia Conference coming up on August 12.
It’s free at UT Health San Antonio, and you can register here.
There is also a 24/7 caregiver helpline at 800-272-3900.