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By SHERYL UBELACKER
The Canadian Press

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TORONTO - Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia are typically seen as afflicting the elderly, but new data suggest an increasing number of baby boomers are also being struck by the brain-destroying diseases.

Of the half-million Canadians affected by various forms of dementia, about 71,000 - or almost 15 per cent - are under age 65, says a study by the Alzheimer Society of Canada. Of those, about 50,000 are 59 or younger.

"We know that we're finding far more individuals in their 50s and 60s who have dementia," said society CEO Scott Dudgeon. "We're talking about dementia generally, including Alzheimer's disease."

The rising tide of cases among these not-quite seniors as well as their older counterparts is poised to swamp the health-care system and severely affect the economy, Dudgeon warns.

"I guess the thing that's most dramatic when you look at the numbers is this grey tsunami that people have been talking about ... seems to be arriving now," he said. "And when you start looking at the number of people who are going to be developing dementia over the next few years, the impact is going to be tremendous."

With Canada's aging population, the society predicts that within five years, an additional 250,000 people could be diagnosed with Alzheimer's or another dementia. By 2040, that number could swell to between one million and 1.3 million.

"As it stands today, the number of Canadians living with Alzheimer's disease or a related dementia will more than double within a generation," said Ray Congdon, the society's volunteer president.

The study also set out to evaluate what impact the growing number of dementia cases will have on Canada's economy, from increased health-care costs to forgone income for both individuals affected by the condition and those who must leave jobs to care for them.

Dudgeon could not provide a price tag based on the updated prevalence projections because that analysis has not yet been completed. But he allowed that it would be "far in excess" of the current estimate of $5.5 billion per year, based on data from the Canadian Study on Health and Aging.