Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Oct 09, 2025

Concerns raised about rise in early onset of Alzheimer’s in BVI

Concerns raised about rise in early onset of Alzheimer’s in BVI

There has been a recent trend of early onset of Alzheimer’s in people younger than the typical age group and it is deemed as worrying for a small territory like the Virgin Islands.
President of the BVI Alzheimer’s Association (BVIAA) Ryan Geluk gave that indication during an interview on JTV recently.

The President noted that Alzheimer’s is a brain degenerative condition that used to be common in people older than 65. He said that trend has been changing in recent years.

“One thing we’re finding nowadays is that the age is creeping down in terms of the persons who are starting to develop early onset of Alzheimer’s and that’s something that’s extremely worrying for us as a society, especially here in the BVI. Alzheimer’s isn’t something that is quick and over. It, as I said, progresses over a significant period. And persons who are living with Alzheimer’s, sometimes it can be seven years, 10 years, or even 20 years to 25 years from essentially early onset to essentially death. So, it can be extremely slow,” Geluk said.

He noted stress is a high-risk factor for Alzheimer’s but said is too early to be determined for the BVI whether there is a relationship between Alzheimer’s and stress-inducing events such as the September 2017 hurricanes or the pandemic.

“We might know in 20 to 25 years from now and we sort of look back and we chart progression, but that’s where we need data. One of the things here in the BVI is we’re not great at collecting data, and as an association, having that data to understand how many persons here in the BVI are living with Alzheimer’s and sort of tracking that over a period of time will help us to understand what sort of impacts some of these things have within the BVI because, I mean, I have heard statistics here essentially saying that 60 percent or 70 percent of the people in the BVI right now are in that high-risk area, especially when it comes to chronic illnesses,” Geluk said.

“So, these are all high-risk factors. And if we have such a high percentage of the population already living with these chronic illnesses, it is extremely concerning from a society’s point of view and certainly from a governmental point of view as well. Alzheimer’s is very expensive to treat because of the length of time where a person lives with Alzheimer’s from essentially early onset straight through. So, it’s worldwide and it’s billions and billions and billions of dollars every single year spent on Alzheimer’s treatment. And we can ill afford that here in the BVI. Especially with such a small population,” he added.

The BVIAA President said he is concerned about the high-stress levels the people of the territory are living under. He noted Hurricane Irma is a trigger point and people are still seeing the effects of that.

“We see the impacts of that in children. We see the impacts of that in young adults, we see the impacts of that in the elderly as well. So, it wouldn’t surprise me that at some point in time you will start to see the unfortunate effects of those stress factors on the development not only of Alzheimer’s, other dementias as well, because of the high-risk factors that we undertake here,” Geluk said.

September is celebrated worldwide as World Alzheimer’s Awareness Month.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×