son (2001) note that the number of people with AZ doubles every five years beyond the age of 65. Family history, the authors state, is also a risk factor but this is usually only for early stage AZ. Neurobiological factors, according to Cummings, Vinters, and Jenaro (2002) are also important contributors. These factors include: certain proteins, growth factors, neurotransmitter deficiencies, dysfunctions in brain cell communication, the effects of inflammation and oxidative stress, and so forth.
What makes AZ of such importance, other than the deleterious effects of disease progression, is that the disease is the most common cause of dementia in people over 65 years of age, with over four million Americans currently living with the disorder (National Institute of Mental Health, 2001). Further, the costs of patient care are massive, amounting to about $100 billion annually, and these figures are climbing (Ott, 2002). It is statistics such as these that make the recognition, treatment and care of AZ of such consequence and this, in turn, highlights the need to understand how various factors contribute to Alzheimer's Disease.
Two contributors to AZ's recognition, treatment and care are ethnicity and culture. Indeed, Preidt (2005) states that treatment and care must take into account the beliefs of patients' culture and ethnicity regarding health in general and AZ in particular, if it is ever to be maximally effective. To the extent that this is true, it becomes imperative to understand how both culture and ethnicity influence the recognition, treatment, and care of AZ. Adding to this need is the fact that the elderly population, in both America and in diverse places of origin, is growing more ethnically diverse (Faison & Mintzer, 2005).
Cultural and Ethnic Factors Involved and Associated with the Recognition/Diagnosis of AZ
Alzheimer's Disease is diagnosed using interviews and tests that involved the measurement of the st...