Rate of Alzheimer’s Cases in the U.S. Has Doubled Since 2000

The rate of people dying of Alzheimer’s disease in the United States has doubled since the year 2000, according to the Alzheimer’s Association's latest report. Where an average of 17.6 people per 100,000 died from the form of dementia at the turn of the millennium, the figure had climbed to 34 per 100,000 people as of 2023.

This is likely the result of an aging population, since age is the predominant risk factor for Alzheimer’s dementia. However, it could also reflect a rise in the number of formal diagnoses of the disease or even in the number of physicians who are reporting Alzheimer’s as a cause of death.

The number of deaths from dementia spiked in 2020 in the U.S., with one in every 10 death certificates that year listing Covid-19 as the primary cause of death also listing Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia as a multiple cause of death. Among people aged 85 or older who died of Covid-19 in 2020 or 2021, Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia was listed as a multiple cause of death on almost a quarter of death certificates. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, this is largely due to the fact that nursing homes and long-term care facilities were the site of major outbreaks in the early stages of the pandemic, with residents with Alzheimer’s particularly vulnerable.

Dementia is often underdiagnosed, with some studies indicating that such underdiagnosis is higher in Black and Hispanic older adults. This can lead to harms such as delayed access to treatment and supportive services as well as less time for care planning. Early symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease include difficulty remembering recent conversations, names or events, apathy and depression.