Facts and Stats

Alzheimer’s is an epidemic in Orange County and Nationwide

Prevalence

Every 66 seconds, someone in America develops Alzheimer’s. It is estimated that nearly 500,000 new cases of Alzheimer’s disease will be diagnosed this year. Get the facts about Alzheimer’s disease—the most common form of dementia.

  • An estimated 6.2 million Americans age 65 and older are living with Alzheimer’s dementia in 2022. This number is expected to rise to  nearly 13 million by 2050.

  • Almost two-thirds of Americans with Alzheimer’s are women. Of the 5.1 million people age 65 and older with Alzheimer’s in the United States, 3.2 million are women and 1.9 million are men.
  • Although there are more non-Hispanic whites living with Alzheimer’s and other dementias than people of any other racial or ethnic group in the United States, older African-Americans and Hispanics are more likely than older Whites to have Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.

The number of Americans with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias will grow each year as the size and proportion of the U.S. population age 65 and older continue to increase. By 2025, the number of people age 65 and older with Alzheimer’s disease is estimated to reach 7.1 million — a 40 percent increase from the 5.1 million age 65 and older affected in 2015. By 2050, the number of people age 65 and older with Alzheimer’s disease may nearly triple, from 5.1 million to a projected 13.8 million, barring the development of medical breakthroughs to prevent or cure the disease.

Mortality

1 in 3 seniors dies with Alzheimer’s or another dementia. It kills more than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined. As the population of the United States ages, Alzheimer’s is becoming a more common cause of death.

Year over year, Alzheimer’s disease has consistently been among the top 10 leading causes of death in the United States. Between 2000 and 2019, deaths from stroke, heart disease, and HIV decreased, whereas reported deaths from Alzheimer’s disease increased by more than 145%. Alzheimer’s is the only disease among the top 10 causes of death in America that cannot be prevented, cured or even slowed.

Impact On Caregivers

In 2019, about 16.34 million Alzheimer’s/dementia caregivers spent about 18.6 billion unpaid hours valued at 243 billion dollars worth of service.

  • Approximately two-thirds of caregivers are women and 34 percent are age 65 or older.
  • Forty-one percent of caregivers have a household income of $50,000 or less.
  • Well over half (57%) of family caregivers of people with Alzheimer’s and related dementias provide care for four years or more.

  • It is estimated that 250,000 children and young adults between ages 8 and 18 provide help to someone with Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia.

Alzheimer’s takes a devastating toll on caregivers. Nearly 60 percent of Alzheimer’s and dementia caregivers rate the emotional stress of caregiving as high or very high; about 40 percent suffer from depression. Due to the physical and emotional toll of caregiving, Alzheimer’s and dementia caregivers had $9.7 billion in additional health care costs of their own in 2014.

Cost To Nation

Alzheimer’s disease is the most expensive disease in America today.

  • The average Alzheimer’s care costs vary by location and type of care, but the average is $235 per day for a semi-private room in a nursing facility, or $85,775 per year, according to a Genworth Financial survey. For a private room, that cost goes up to $267 per day, or $97,455 per year. Home health aides typically cost around $22 per hour, and adult daycare services are $70 per day on average.

  • Average per-person Medicare spending for people age 65 or older with Alzheimer’s and other dementias is three times higher than for seniors without dementia. Medicaid payments are 19 times higher.
  • Medicare and Medicaid can offset some of these costs. However, the cost of dementia out-of-pocket care can still be high—the AARP reports that 78 percent of family caregivers of those with dementia spent their own money on caregiving, an average of $10,697 per year on household, medical, personal care, home help, travel and legal expenses. This doesn’t take into account the potential loss of income caregivers experience when they have to cut back on hours at work or take on less responsibility.

  • Nearly one in every five Medicare dollars is spent on people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias. In 2050, it will be one in every three dollars.

Unless something is done, in 2050, Alzheimer’s is projected to cost over $1.1 trillion (in 2015 dollars). This dramatic rise includes a five-fold increase in government spending under Medicare and Medicaid and a nearly five-fold increase in out-of pocket spending.

Sources: 

Hebert LE, Weuve J, Scherr PA, Evans DA. Alzheimer’s disease in the United States (2010-2050) estimated using the 2010 Census. Neurology. Available at www.neurology.org/content/early/2013/02/06/WNL.0b013e31828726f5.abstract. Published online before print, Feb. 6, 2013.
Alzheimer’s Association. 2022 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures. Alzheimer’s & Dementia 2022;11(3)332+
Alzheimer’s Association. 2021 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures. Alzheimer’s & Dementia 17: 327-406.
Chan L. (2021, February 4). How do you cover the cost of alzheimer’s care? Being Patient. Retrieved August 1, 2022, from https://www.beingpatient.com/alzheimers-care-costs/
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2019, October 30). Caregiving for person with alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved August 1, 2022, from https://www.cdc.gov/aging/caregiving/alzheimer.htm
Michas, F. (2022, April 29). Alzheimer/dementia caregivers unpaid care U.S. 2011-2021. Statista. Retrieved August 1, 2022, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/216673/alzheimer-and-dementia-caregivers-unpaid-care-in-the-us/
Michas, F. (2022, April 29). Alzheimer/dementia caregivers unpaid hours leading U.S. states 2021. Statista. Retrieved August 1, 2022, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/216662/leading-us-states-by-alzheimer-and-dementia-caregivers-unpaid-hours/
Together, O. C. H. (2020, February). Alzheimer’s disease and dementia prevalence: 65+. Orange County’s Healthier Together :: Indicators :: Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia Prevalence: 65+ :: County : Orange. Retrieved July 26, 2022, from https://www.ochealthiertogether.org/indicators/index/view?indicatorId=4169&localeId=267&comparisonId=6635
Hirtz D, Thurman DJ,Gwinn‐Hardy K, Mohamed M, Chaudhuri AR, Zalutsky R.How common are the “common” neurologic disorders?Neurology 2007;68:326‐3
World Alzheimer Report 2015 the Global Impact Of Dementia An Analysis Of Prevalence, Incidence, Cost and Trends, p.7 http://www.alz.co.uk/research/WorldAlzheimerReport2015.pdf, and World Alzheimer Report 2015 the Global Impact Of Dementia An Analysis Of Prevalence, Incidence, Cost and Trends Summary Sheet, p.1 http://www.alz.co.uk/research/WorldAlzheimerReport2015-sheet.pdf
Alzheimer’sDisease International World Alzheimer Report 2010: The Global Economic Impact of Dementia: Executive Summary,” Prof Anders Wimo, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden Prof Martin Prince, Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London,UK. Published by Alzheimer’sDisease International (ADI) 21 September 2010