Seniors living in the East and Southeast regions of the United States are most likely to have Alzheimer’s disease, according to new data shared at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference and published in the organization’s journal. The report offers the first estimates of Alzheimer’s disease prevalence in the US at the county level. Researchers used data from thousands of individuals who participated in the Chicago Health and Aging Project to assess demographic risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease and mapped that against the makeup of US counties.
The findings suggest that Alzheimer’s rates are highest in Miami-Dade County, Baltimore, and the Bronx, where about 1 in 6 seniors have the disease. Maryland has the highest prevalence at the state level, followed by New York and Mississippi. This information can be useful for public health leaders and organizations in better supporting the millions of individuals living with Alzheimer’s disease and planning for an aging population.
Dr. Halima Amjad, a geriatrician at Johns Hopkins Medicine and chair of an Alzheimer’s council in the Maryland state government, stated that having this information adds to the urgency of the work being done. Dr. Amjad emphasizes the importance of care and support for dementia occurring at the state and local level, as opposed to the national level. Last year, Maryland implemented specific appropriations focused on dementia care in its state budget, highlighting the need for financial support to bolster available care and support.
Using demographic risk factors to estimate the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease helps capture the full burden of the disease, which is often underestimated in medical records. Over half of people living with Alzheimer’s and related dementias are undiagnosed, which can be attributed to lack of recognition by individuals and families, as well as clinicians’ reluctance to make and share the diagnosis.
The report also reveals that the risk for Alzheimer’s disease increases significantly with age. Individuals aged 75 to 79 were about three times more likely to have the disease than those aged 65 to 69, and rates were about 15 times higher among those aged 85 and above. Rates among senior women were about 13% higher than among senior men, and rates among Black seniors were about 2.5 times higher than those among White seniors.
The estimates mentioned in the report did not come as a surprise to James Macgill, assistant commissioner at Baltimore’s health department who leads the city’s Alzheimer’s program. Macgill attributes the higher rates to the historical segregation and lack of access to healthcare, healthy food, and walkable neighborhoods in the city’s majority Black communities. He emphasizes the importance of bringing the focus on dementia down to the neighborhood level to address health disparities and provide resources to minimize the risk.
Having data at the community level helps educate people in those communities and make a case for the necessary support and resources. The findings of the study underscore the need for targeted interventions and support at the local level to address the growing burden of Alzheimer’s disease among seniors in the East and Southeast regions of the United States.