NFL star Michael Irvin has revealed that his wife suffers from early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. Here’s what that means

When Dallas Cowboys Hall of Fame wide receiver Michael Irvin revealed earlier this month that his wife had been diagnosed with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease, it brought attention to a pressing issue facing black Americans.

Irvin, 58, was the primary to publicly reveal the news about his wife Sandy, 58, to customers at his store. Quarterback88 sports bar in The Colony, Texas Fort Worth Star Telegram reported. The NFL analyst said his wife has been battling the disease for 5 – 6 years and has several challenges, including difficulty walking and talking. She currently requires around-the-clock care from a live-in caregiver.

Despite battling the disease, Irvin said he had “no intention” of placing his wife in a care facility, whatever the potential costs.

“If anyone deserved the right to stay in her home, my wife did,” Irvin told the newspaper. “I’ll honor that. No matter what it takes.

Irvin and his wife met on the University of Miami. They have been together for 39 years and married for 34.

Early-onset Alzheimer’s disease is diagnosed when symptoms of the disease appear before the age of 65, most frequently after the age of 40 or 50. However, this version of Alzheimer’s disease is far rarer, leaving many doctors puzzled by its symptoms. Moreover, it’s difficult for officials to know the way common early onset of the disease is in black Americans as a consequence of serious discrepancies in each studies and appropriate screening for black patients.

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However, it is thought that Alzheimer’s disease, a condition that over time worsens memory and affects the brain’s ability to recollect basic functions, disproportionately affects black Americans. Blacks are twice as likely as their white counterparts develop the disease.

There is little data to indicate exactly why the condition appears to be more common amongst black Americans, although some health workers theorize that the greater susceptibility of the black community to the condition could also be related to a systemic lack of access to adequate health care, the environment, and potentially also with genetic aspects.