Discuss About The Epidemiology Alzheimer Dementia In Australia.
Alzheimer’s disease has increasing become a malignant and highly prevalent disorder of the elderly. The disease results from neurodegeneration of the cerebral cortex and brain matter in the areas of the hippocampus and the amygdala. The causative agents of Alzheimer’s disease have not been well understood however a number of research and experiments have implicated several risk factors responsible for the sporadic but insidious development of the disease. The risk factors include familial predisposition, chromosomal mutations, inactivity and cerebrovascular disorders. The incidence of the disorder rises with age steadily from the ages of 65 years and peaking at the age of 85-89 years. The clinical progression of the disease is slowly. The clinical picture starts with the steady and slow management of higher motor and sensory functions such as mood and behaviour which are highly interfered with. As the disease progresses, cortical functions of the individual’s brains are severely affected with clinical manifestations including disorientation of time, place and person, severe memory loss in terms of short, intermediate and long-term memories and aphasia with profound disability in motor functions such as movement.
Very little is known concerning the causes of Alzheimer’s disease in the population with several theories developed to link the disease to familial inheritance of the causal agent and chromosomal mutations. The aim of this study is to provide and discuss the risk of physical and mental inactivity to the development of Alzheimer’s disease and the resultant development of dementia in the Australian aging population. The study aims to:
Hypothetically, this case study is to define and discuss the association between physical and mental inactivity to the development of Alzheimer’s disease.
Hypothesis 1. Lower levels of activity and immobility is associated with an earlier age of onset for Alzheimer’s disease.
Hypothesis 2. Lower levels of mental activity such as educational achievements positively relate to the early diagnosis, development and progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
Hypothesis 3. Higher levels of mental and physical activity does not alter the age of onset of Alzheimer’s disease but only delay the diagnosis.
Alzheimer’s disease is a disorder of the human brain that is characterized by neurodegeneration of the brain matter resulting in impaired cognitive and behavioural functions that was first described by Alois Alzheimer, 1906. The impairment therefore severely interferes with the social, economic and occupational life of the affected individuals resulting in a high cost of management and patient care. Alzheimer’s disease is a chronic condition that is not transmissible from person to person. The curative mechanisms of the disease are not yet developed and therefore Alzheimer’s disease is incurable. As chronic as AD is, it takes a long preclinical duration of time and progresses over time until death ensures.
There is no well understood d causative agents of Alzheimer’s disease. However, genetic composition of the affected individuals has been implicated to try and explain the pathogenesis of the disorder. In the elderly, Alzheimer’s disease is the primarily the cause of dementia. Dementia is defined as a broad category of brain disorders that result in the reduction in the ability to think and remember information hence a poor quality of life with affected functioning of routine activities. In this instance therefore, Alzheimer’s disease and dementia will be investigated together as a single entity in this research proposal.
Clinical studies such as medical imaging using magnetic resonance images, the affected brain is found to have atrophied in the cortical regions with very wide sulci and enlargement of the ventricles. Structures in the midbrain such as the hippocampus and amygdala arte involved in the neurodegeneration early in the disease and thus are severely affected as the disease progresses. Histologically, neuritic plaques of amyloid peptides are deposited in the cortical matter of the brain resulting in diffuse neurofibrillary tangles that progresses severely resulting with reactive gliosis and neuronal loss as the ultimate complications hence dementia.
Alzheimer’s disease and dementia rarely presents in individuals younger than 50 years of age. The incidence of the disorder rises with age steadily from the ages of 65 years and peaking at the age of 85-89 years. The clinical progression of the disease is slowly. The clinical picture starts with the steady and slow impairment of higher motor and sensory functions such as mood and behaviour which are highly interfered with. As the disease progresses, cortical functions of the individual’s brains are severely affected with clinical manifestations including disorientation of time, place and person, severe memory loss in terms of short, intermediate and long-term memories and aphasia with profound disability in motor functions such as movement. Ultimately, as the disease progression severely affects the patient with peak neurodegeneration and accumulation of the amyloid peptides, the individual becomes totally disabled, dyskinesia sets in and mute depending 100% on their caregivers for thus increasing the socioeconomic, medical and financial problems on the family, friends and the nation.
Alzheimer’s disease is majorly sporadic with a smaller fraction of the affected individuals showing a positive familial inheritance model. No treatments modality and regimes has been developed to cure, prevent or reverse the progression of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. However, some drugs are used to relieve the symptoms by increasing the quantity of neuropeptide transmitters in the brain. As of 2015, there were 29.8 million reported and documented cases of Alzheimer’s disease with a mortality number recorded at 1.9 million (Lancet, 2016).
This research will provide great impact to the department of health, hospitals and medical schools with the latest information on the epidemiology of Alzheimer’s disease and its complication of dementia. From the report, the Australian population will understand the disease burden provided by the AD and dementia. Thus, will be able to develop strategies and interventions that would be effective in the prevention of the Alzheimer’s disease and reduce the disease effects in the society. Finally, the research will create a foundation for the future researcher to conduct research in the Australian population by providing the basic information as a literature publication.
Alzheimer’s disease and dementia rarely presents in individuals younger than 50 years of age. The incidence of the disorder rises with age steadily from the ages of 65 years and peaking at the age of 85-89 years. The clinical progression of the disease is slowly. The clinical picture starts with the steady and slow impairment of higher motor and sensory functions such as mood and behaviour which are highly interfered with. As the disease progresses, cortical functions of the individual’s brains are severely affected with clinical manifestations including disorientation of time, place and person, severe memory loss in terms of short, intermediate and long-term memories and aphasia with profound disability in motor functions such as movement. Ultimately, as the disease progression severely affects the patient with peak neurodegeneration and accumulation of the amyloid peptides, the individual becomes totally disabled, dyskinesia sets in and mute depending 100% on their caregivers for thus increasing the socioeconomic, medical and financial problems on the family, friends and the nation (Robin &Cotlan 2001.)
In the study by Ana Luisa, 2012, a mini-systematic review concluded that the epidemiological data on Alzheimer’s disease and dementia is so large to warrant the intervention of dementia as a national and worldwide health problem. Since the recent researches, meta-analyses and peer-reviewed literatures have failed to identify the cause or strategies and interventions for the prevention of AD, the age-related heterogeneous disorder should be considered a public health priority to reduce the projected large incidence rate by the year 2030.
Focusing on the developing world, Kalaria et al, 2008 conducted studies to determine the disease burden of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia in Latin America, Asia and Africa. In the research, the authors identified the risk factors to development of AD and determined the mortality incidences due to Alzheimer’s disease and dementia within the population. Despite a high mortality and morbidity rate due to infective diseases, poverty and conflicts, the article discusses the remarkable impacts of AD on the mortality rates in the developing countries and how the values are projected to increase globally affecting both developed and developing countries due to either sporadic or familial Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.
A systemic review and metaanalysis on the on the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia with a peer review of global literatures on dementia focusing on publications from the year 1980 to 2009. The prevalence of dementia, primarily depended on the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease is substantially similar across the globe with a convergence on the ages above 65 years, Prince et al, 2012. With the better healthcare provided globally, the prevalence was estimated to rise by a double figure by the year 2020 which will require the different countries structure an Alzheimer’s survey regularly with research on progression prevention and cure.
With a looming epidemic of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia on the globe due to the aging of the world population, therapeutic and preventive measures effective for the delay and progression of the disorder should be addressed. This is because the disease burden of AD is estimated to grow rapidly by the year 2050 to an estimated 84 million affected elderly patients (Brookmeyer et al, 2007)
In the Australian population, studies conducted using the case control methodology, clinically diagnosed and reported cases of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia between the ages of 52-96 were interviewed to determine the risk factors associated with the development of the disorder. The article discusses four risk factors involved in the development of AD as a previous history of dementia, previous diagnosis of AD, chromosomal mutations resulting in Down’s syndrome in the family and a previous history of underactivity in academic and occupational life (Broe et al, 1990).
This study therefore seeks to determine and estimate the prevalence and epidemiology data on Alzheimer’s disease and dementia in Australia. Defined as a public health priority and one of the non-communicable disease burdens globally, the research focuses will focus on the link between the levels of activity and the development, progression and diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. As a public health benefit, this study will help address design the structure and interventions effective in the prevention of the effects of AD while also give room and foundation for more researches on the prevention and cure Alzheimer’s disease before progression to dementia and death.
Australia being a developed country with a large elderly population, the prevalence and incidence rates of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia are high and therefore pose a huge burden on the Australian public health agency to prevent and reduce the impacts on the economy and social aspects of the nation. Drawing insights from previous literature, the risks factors for developing AD are majorly the age factor, occupational and academic inactivity, familial inheritance and chromosomal mutations associated with Down’s syndrome (Broe et al, 1990).
Phase one of the field study to determine and estimate the prevalence and incidence rates of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia in the Australian population. Additionally, to define the distribution and prognosis of AD in the population. The following methods of data collection will be utilized in this phase, interviews, hospital records access, questionnaires and participatory observation in obtaining data from eight public Australian hospitals in the states.
Phase two of the study will focus on the selected participants in the study identified randomly from the patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and under management to identify the risk factors in their past medical and social history and the effects of the disease on the family social and financial aspects.
The study will be conducted in Australia. The research participants will be selected to fulfil the methodology criteria in two phases.
In phase 1, a stratified random sampling method will be used to determine the hospitals to be used in the data collection and analysis process. The characters of the hospitals to be identified are;
In phase 2, a Quota sampling methods will be used to identify the patients to participate in the research. The sample population is characterized basing on:
A sample size of 144 patients will be used in the research. The patient’s family will be interviewed in the research, especially the caregivers.
The process of data collection will be carried using the following methods:
In-depth interviews: the participants will be asked questions and allowed to freely air their views about the structured subtopics relating to Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Those interviewed will be medical professionals, patients still well oriented, patients’ caregivers and other family members.
Participatory observation: as the researcher, I will engage in the daily activities of the participants observing their routine, taking notes and asking questions while recording the images and voices of the participants in the field.
Extraction of data: the hospital records will be audited and analysed for the data on the number of cases diagnosed and recorded to calculate the prevalence, incidence rates and other records relevant to mortality. The data sources to be analysed will include electronic health records, outpatient records, pathology and imaging records, mortality records and survey reports.
Being a cross-sectional study, the data collected will be analysed using the following measures.
Calculation of incidence rate. The rate will be calculated through recording the number of new cases in the year, determination of the person years.
Analysis of the causal relationship between levels of inactivity and the disease to provide a discussion according to the objectives and hypothesis regarding the:
Prevalence rates.
Incidence rates.
Risks ratio.
The following models and tools will be used I the data analysis:
A general linear model.
ELKI, for data mining with visualization features.
Primarily the limitation to the methodology is the traveling during data collection. Therefore, internet based systems such as video teleconferencing and calls will be used where possible to reduce travelling.
The study will be conducted basing on the guiding principles of protection of the human subjects who voluntarily chose to participate in the study. Informed consent will be obtained from the participants within the standard international operations and protocols of the Australian Ethics Review Committee. The participants will be explained to the consent form and made to understand before choosing to participate in the study or not. Consent will be indicated by the participant’s signature or finger print. The participants will be allowed to pull out of the study at their own will.
The participants will not be identified by their names during the research, in the data or during presentation of the information. All the personal identifiers will be removed and the data collected will be on good clinical practice compliant forms and methods. The data will be protected to be accessed by only privileged individuals and the after the project, the data entry forms with identifiers will be destroyed to remove traces of the participants.
The only resolve is inconvenience in time during the study. The benefits include education about Alzheimer’s disease and dementia and the best care practices available.
As the researcher, I do not anticipate any risks to the participants, however I case of breaks in data privacy, fines will be paid to protect the face of the affected individual or organization. Additionally, incentives will be given as gifts to the participants in form of food and drugs.
The results generated and analysed from the study will be represented in charts, tables and graphs. The qualitative data will be represented in text formats.
The report will be presented and communicated to all the medical training hospitals that participated in the study, the Department of Health of Australia and my university supervisors and tutors. Furthermore, the research report will be shared with the broader audience of research community in online platforms such as Researchgate and the IEEE. To the university, the report will be presented through pamphlets, conference presentations and media articles.
The research will take an estimated 135-day period from the day the funds of the budget are received. The following is the project plan of the research.
|
Budgetary requirement |
Cost in US dollars. |
|
Survey design. |
90 |
|
Literature |
55 |
|
Printing. |
250 |
|
ELKI program. |
50 |
|
Stationery. |
200 |
|
Stuff. |
900 |
|
Incentives. |
500 |
|
Transport |
300 |
|
Bills |
150 2495 |
Conclusion
This paper seeks to determine the disease burden of dementia and therefore project the prevalence of the disease in the coming years to enable the national and state governments prepare and strategize the effective prevention interventions for Alzheimer’s disease in the Australian population. This study will therefore determine the impacts of Alzheimer’s disease on the social, economic and occupational goals and objectives of the affected individual, family, society and nation since the disorder disables the individual and require full caregiver support to perform basic activities such as eating, dressing and cleaning after emptying their bladder or bowels. Based on the previous studies and datasets, the prevalence, incidence rates and disease burdens of Alzheimer’s and dementia have been underestimated. However, due to the increasing burden, the report of this research would be used to explain and discuss the need for prioritizing Alzheimer’s disease and dementia as a public health problem in Australia and globally.
References
Broe, G. A., Henderson, A. S., Creasey, H., McCusker, E., Korten, A. E., Jorm, A. F., & Anthony, J. C. (1990). A case?control study of Alzheimer’s disease in Australia. Neurology, 40(11), 1698-1698.
Sosa-Ortiz, A. L., Acosta-Castillo, I., & Prince, M. J. (2012). Epidemiology of dementias and Alzheimer’s disease. Archives of medical research, 43(8), 600-608.
Prince, M., Bryce, R., Albanese, Economics., Wimo, A., Ribeiro, W., & Ferri, C. P. (2013). The global prevalence of dementia: a systematic review and metaanalysis. Alzheimer’s & dementia: the journal of the Alzheimer’s Association, 9(1), 63-75.
Kalaria, R. N., Maestre, G. E., Arizaga, R., Friedland, R. P., Galasko, D., Hall, K., … & Prince, M. (2008). Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia in developing countries: prevalence, management, and risk factors. The Lancet Neurology, 7(9), 812-826.
Brookmeyer, R., Johnson, E., Ziegler-Graham, K., & Arrighi, H. M. (2007). Forecasting the global burden of Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s & dementia: the journal of the Alzheimer’s Association, 3(3), 186-191.
Hendrie, H. C. (1998). Epidemiology of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 6(2), S3-S18.
Stern, Y., Gurland, B., Tatemichi, T. K., Tang, M. X., Wilder, D., & Mayeux, R. (1994). Influence of education and occupation on the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease. Jama, 271(13), 1004-1010.
Rosen, W. G., Mohs, R. C., & Davis, K. L. (1984). A new rating scale for Alzheimer’s disease. The American journal of psychiatry.
Kumar, V., Abbas, A. K., Fausto, N., & Aster, J. C. (2005). Robbins and Cotran pathologic basis of disease.
Hoda, S. A., & Ginter, P. S. (2015). Robbins and Cotran Pathologic Basis of Disease. American Journal of Clinical Pathology, 144(1), 172.
Nay, R., Bauer, M., Fetherstonhaugh, D., Moyle, W., Tarzia, L., & McAuliffe, L. (2015). Social participation and family carers of people living with dementia in Australia. Health & social care in the community, 23(5), 550-558.
Carling-Jenkins, R., Bigby, C., & Iacono, T. (2014). Family experiences of supporting a person with Down syndrome and dementia in Australia. Intellectual disability and dementia: Research into practice, 145-160.
Li, S. Q., Guthridge, S. L., Aratchige, P. E., Lowe, M. P., Wang, Z., Zhao, Y., & Krause, V. (2014). Dementia prevalence and incidence among the Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations of the Northern Territory. Med J Aust, 200(8), 465-9.
Jorm, A. F., Dear, K. B., & Burgess, N. M. (2005). Projections of future numbers of dementia cases in Australia with and without prevention. Australian and New Zealand Journal of psychology, 39(11?12), 959-963.
Essay Writing Service Features
Our Experience
No matter how complex your assignment is, we can find the right professional for your specific task. Contact Essay is an essay writing company that hires only the smartest minds to help you with your projects. Our expertise allows us to provide students with high-quality academic writing, editing & proofreading services.
Free Features
Free revision policy
$10Free bibliography & reference
$8Free title page
$8Free formatting
$8How Our Essay Writing Service Works
First, you will need to complete an order form. It's not difficult but, in case there is anything you find not to be clear, you may always call us so that we can guide you through it. On the order form, you will need to include some basic information concerning your order: subject, topic, number of pages, etc. We also encourage our clients to upload any relevant information or sources that will help.
Complete the order form
Once we have all the information and instructions that we need, we select the most suitable writer for your assignment. While everything seems to be clear, the writer, who has complete knowledge of the subject, may need clarification from you. It is at that point that you would receive a call or email from us.
Writer’s assignment
As soon as the writer has finished, it will be delivered both to the website and to your email address so that you will not miss it. If your deadline is close at hand, we will place a call to you to make sure that you receive the paper on time.
Completing the order and download