Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures, an annual report released by the Alzheimer’s Association, reveals the burden of Alzheimer’s and dementia on individuals, caregivers, government and the nation’s health care system.

The accompanying special report, More Than Normal Aging: Understanding Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), examines the challenges that physicians and the American public face in understanding and diagnosing mild cognitive impairment (MCI), which is characterized by subtle changes in memory and thinking. It is estimated 10% to 15% of individuals with MCI go on to develop dementia each year.

Quick Facts

More than 6 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s. By 2050, this number is projected to rise to nearly 13 million.

In 2022, Alzheimer’s and other dementias will cost the nation $321 billion. By 2050, these costs could reach nearly $1 trillion.

Fewer than 1 in 5 Americans are familiar with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), which can be an early stage of Alzheimer’s.

1 in 3 seniors dies with Alzheimer’s or another dementia. It kills more than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined.

More than 11 million Americans provide unpaid care for people with Alzheimer’s or other dementias.

More than 11 million Americans provide unpaid care for people with Alzheimer’s or other dementias.

In 2020, COVID-19 contributed to a 17% increase in Alzheimer’s and dementia deaths.

In 2021, these caregivers provided more than 16 billion hours of care valued at nearly $272 billion.

In 2021, these caregivers provided more than 16 billion hours of care valued at nearly $272 billion.

Prevalence

The number of Americans living with Alzheimer’s is growing — and growing fast. More than 6 million Americans of all ages have Alzheimer’s.

An estimated 6.5 million Americans age 65 and older are living with Alzheimer’s in 2022. Seventy-three percent are age 75 or older.

• About 1 in 9 age 65 and older (10.7%) has Alzheimer’s.
• Almost two-thirds of Americans with Alzheimer’s are women.
• Older Black Americans are about twice as likely to have Alzheimer’s or other dementias as older Whites.
• Older Hispanics are about one and one-half times as likely to have Alzheimer’s or other dementias as older Whites.

Mortality

Alzheimer’s is not just memory loss. Alzheimer’s kills.

• 1 in 3 seniors dies with Alzheimer’s or another dementia. It kills more than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined.
• Deaths from Alzheimer’s have more than doubled between 2000 and 2019, while those from heart disease — the leading cause of death — have decreased.
• At age 70, seniors living with Alzheimer’s are twice as likely to die before age 80 than those who do not have the disease.

Caregivers

Eighty-three percent of the help provided to older adults in the United States comes from family members, friends or other unpaid caregivers. Nearly half of all caregivers who provide help to older adults do so for someone living with Alzheimer’s or another dementia.

Who are the caregivers?

• About 30% of caregivers are age 65 or older.
• Approximately two-thirds of caregivers are women; more specifically, over one-third of dementia caregivers are daughters.
• Most caregivers (66%) live with the person with dementia in the community.
• Approximately one-quarter of dementia caregivers are “sandwich generation” caregivers — meaning that they care not only for an aging parent but also for at least one child.

Alzheimer’s takes a devastating toll on caregivers. Compared with caregivers of people without dementia, twice as many caregivers of those with dementia indicate substantial emotional, financial and physical difficulties.

Of the total lifetime cost of caring for someone with dementia, 70% is borne by families — either through out-of-pocket health and long-term care expenses or from the value of unpaid care.

Workforce

As the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease increases, so does the need for additional members of the paid workforce who are involved in diagnosing, treating and caring for those living with the disease.

• Half of primary care physicians reported that they do not feel adequately prepared to care for individuals with Alzheimer’s and other dementias. More than 25% reported being “only sometimes” or “never” comfortable answering patient questions about Alzheimer’s or other dementias.
• The United States will have to nearly triple the number of geriatricians to effectively care for the number of people projected to have Alzheimer’s in 2050.
• Few care professionals specialize in geriatrics:
  • Only 12% of nurse practitioners have special expertise in gerontological care.
  • Less than 1% of registered nurses, physician assistants and pharmacists identify themselves as specializing in geriatrics.
  • Only 4% of social workers have formal certification in geriatric social work.
• The demand for direct care workers (roles such as nurses aides and home health aides) is projected to grow by more than 40% between 2016 and 2026, while their availability is expected to decline.

Cost to Nation

The costs of health care and long-term care for individuals living with Alzheimer’s or other dementias are substantial, and dementia is one of the costliest conditions to society.

In 2022, Alzheimer’s and other dementias will cost the nation $321 billion, including $206 billion in Medicare and Medicaid payments combined. Unless a treatment to slow, stop or prevent the disease is developed, in 2050, Alzheimer’s is projected to cost nearly $1 trillion (in 2022 dollars). This dramatic rise includes three-fold increases both in government spending under Medicare and Medicaid and in out-of-pocket spending.

• People living with Alzheimer’s or other dementias have twice as many hospital stays per year as other older people.
• Medicare beneficiaries with Alzheimer’s or other dementias are more likely than those without dementia to have other chronic conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes and kidney disease.
• Older people living with Alzheimer’s or other dementias have more skilled nursing facility stays and home health care visits per year than other older people.
• People living with Alzheimer’s or other dementias make up a large proportion of all elderly people who receive adult day services and nursing home care.