Once again, and on the occasion of World Alzheimer's Day, the Pasqual Maragall Foundation calls for the need to erase this celebration from the calendar and make this September 21st #undiaparaolvidar, this year through the following actions: 4lzh31m3r: the numbers to forget.
“With this initiative we put on the table the need to allocate more resources to Alzheimer's, especially in research. At the Pasqual Maragall Foundation we are convinced that only through science will we find the way to defeat it. Also, with this action, we highlight the importance of dissemination to change the culture about the disease, always with our purpose in mind: a future without Alzheimer's.”, he declares Cristina Maragall, president of the entity.
The figures of the 4lzh31mer
It is currently estimated that Alzheimer's and dementia affect 900,000 people, one in ten people over 65 years of age and a third of those over 85. These pathologies are one of the main causes of mortality, disability and dependency and there is no effective care to modify their course.
In addition to the affected people, their families also assume, in 80% of the cases, the cost of the disease, which amounts to 30,000 euros per person per year, and the dedication of an average of 70 hours per week by the family caregiver of the person with Alzheimer's.
For this reason, with the aim of raising awareness and offering more figures that show the magnitude of the disease in Spain, the Pasqual Maragall Foundation has published the results of the second wave of the survey of "Attitudes and perceptions of the Spanish population regarding Alzheimer's» prepared with the support of the Ministry of Social Rights and Agenda 2030, on a sample of more than 2,300 people.
This study shows that Alzheimer's is the health condition that most worries the Spanish population, close behind cancer, and that 2 out of 3 people know someone who suffers or has suffered from Alzheimer's, with almost 30% of those surveyed being a first-degree relative. These are just some of the figures that reflect the population's concern, as well as their lack of knowledge about the disease.
More resources for research
On World Alzheimer's Day, the Foundation is calling for more resources to be allocated to research and to make the disease a strategic political priority. To this end, the organisation works every day to change the reality of Alzheimer's through research, with its own centre, the Barcelonaßeta Brain Research Center (BBRC) which focuses its work on the preclinical and asymptomatic phase of the disease.
In addition, the Foundation, in line with its work to change the social perception of the disease, provides caretakers with a free training and emotional support programme, in which more than 1,500 people have participated in the last 10 years. Specifically, and to improve access to this training, the organisation is currently offering the programme in an online format, so that any caretaker can access this content without having to travel.
“Today, September 21, we want to show how Alzheimer's has already become a structural pandemic in our country, and our support for the thousands of families who face this disease every day. Therefore, on such a special day, we invite all people who want to join our cause by spreading our action: 4lzh31m3r: the numbers to forget”, he declares Cristina Maragall.
