Alzheimer's Disease

• Approximately 5 million Americans have Alzheimer's disease.
• Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia among older people.

Source: http://www.alz.org

Crime

• Seniors are more vulnerable to crimes such as purse snatching, mugging and fraud.
• Studies show that the elderly bear the heaviest psychological costs of crime due to the lack of resources.
• Crime rates among seniors is falling, yet the fear of crime, especially among senior women, is rising.

Elder Abuse

• People age 80 and over, especially women, are at the greatest risk of experiencing elder abuse.
• Elder abuse can take many forms, including, physical, sexual, emotional and financial abuse.
• Typically, elder abusers are family members or professional caregivers.

Identity Theft

• 10 percent of consumers who reported that they were victims of identity theft are age 60 and older.
• About 52 percent of identity theft victims over 60 years of age reported that either new credit card accounts were opened in their name or that someone took over an existing account.
• Credit card fraud is the leading form of identity theft.
• Almost 20 percent of victims over age 60 reported that someone had attempted to misuse their information in comparison to almost 11 percent of victims under age 60.
• About 10 percent of all victims over age 60 reported fraud involving their checking or savings accounts and 7 percent reported that an identity thief obtained a loan in their name.

Source: http://www.ftc.gov

Personal Safety

• Each year, 76 million people in the U.S. get sick from contaminated food. Older adults are more susceptible to foodborne illnesses.
• Seniors, the largest consumers of medication, are at the highest risk for medication errors.
• Falls are the leading cause of injury death among seniors.

Senior Population (age 65 and older)

• The largest segment of the U.S. population is made up of people over the age of 65.
• In 2004, there were 36.3 million people age 65 and over in the United States.
• This age group accounts for 12 percent of the total U.S. population.
• In 2004, there were 4.9 million people age 85 and older in the United States.
• The projected population of people 65 and over in the year 2050 is 86.7 million.

Source: http://www.census.gov