Canadian Survey on Disability, 2012
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Released: 2015-07-27
Memory disabilities among Canadians aged 15 years and older
Data from the 2012 Canadian Survey on Disability revealed that 2.3% (628,200) of Canadians aged 15 years and older reported having a memory disability that limited their daily activity. The most commonly reported underlying memory conditions were Alzheimer's, dementia and amnesia.
The occurrence of memory disability increases notably with age. Among those aged 75 and older, the prevalence of a memory disability was over twice that of Canadians aged 65 to 74 (7.6% versus 3.2%). In contrast, for younger Canadians aged 15 to 24, 0.9% reported a memory disability.
Memory disabilities frequently co-occurred with other types of disabilities. More than 9 in 10 of those with a memory disability also reported at least one other type of disability.
Adults with a memory disability had overall lower levels of educational attainment than those who did not have any disability. For example, among Canadians aged 15 to 64 who were not in school and who reported a memory disability, one in five reported not completing high school. In comparison, about one in eight adults without any type of disability did not finish high school.
The employment rate of working-age adults aged 15 to 64 with a memory disability was 30.7% in 2012, less than half the employment rate of those who did not have any type of disability (73.6%). Even when employed, this group had a lower median employment income compared with those who did not report any disability. Those with a memory disability were more likely than those without any disability to rely on government transfers as their major source of income (63.0% versus 18.7%).
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The fact sheet "Memory disabilities among Canadians aged 15 years and older, 2012," which is part of the Canadian Survey on Disability, 2012 (89-654-X), is now available from the Browse by key resource module of our website under Publications.
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