2024 Alzheimer's disease facts and figures.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Annual public health surveillance report and statistical synthesis (graded by design analogy, not clinical CEBM)
PubMed 38689398 · doi:10.1002/alz.13809
What was done
This report compiled national vital statistics, epidemiological models, economic estimates, and healthcare data to assess the public health impact of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in the United States, covering prevalence, incidence, mortality, morbidity, costs, caregiving, and workforce shortages. It also included a Special Report featuring surveys of family caregivers and non-physician healthcare professionals regarding dementia care navigation and healthcare system interactions.
What was found
An estimated 6.9 million Americans aged 65 and older currently live with Alzheimer's dementia, with projections reaching 13.8 million by 2060. In 2021, official death certificates recorded 119,399 deaths from AD; it was the seventh-leading cause of death overall in the US and the fifth-leading cause among adults aged 65 and older. Reported AD deaths rose more than 140% between 2000 and 2021, while deaths from stroke, heart disease, and HIV fell. In 2023, over 11 million unpaid caregivers provided an estimated 18.4 billion hours of care, valued at $346.6 billion. Direct payments for healthcare, long-term care, and hospice services for individuals aged 65 and older with dementia were estimated at $360 billion for 2024, with average per-person Medicare and Medicaid payments being nearly 3 times and over 22 times higher, respectively, than for beneficiaries without dementia.
Why it matters
This annual benchmark demonstrates the substantial and accelerating clinical, workforce, and financial pressures that Alzheimer's disease places on the US healthcare system, state Medicaid programs, and family caregivers.
Limits
The report relies on statistical projections, economic modeling, and death certificate records, which are subject to diagnostic and reporting variations. Exact survey methodologies, response rates, and sample sizes for the caregiver and workforce survey components are not provided in the abstract.
Cited by
- supports One in three 85-year-olds will develop Alzheimer's disease.