First county-level Alzheimer’s prevalence estimates released
For the first time, county-level estimates for Alzheimer’s disease prevalence have been released.
The data shows that Fayette and Washington counties appear to fall in line with many of the commonwealth’s 67 counties while Greene shows one of the lowest incidence rates in the state.
In Washington County, Alzheimer’s dementia prevalence in those 65 and older is 10.7%; Fayette, 10.8%, and Greene, 9.9%. Throughout Pennsylvania, the prevalence is 11.5%.
Previously, only statewide data was available. However, more localized data enables public health officials to better allocate funding and other resources to help families impacted by the disease.
“This is very exciting for the Alzheimer’s Association,” said Sara Murphy, vice president of programs and services, Greater Pennsylvania Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association. “Ideally, this information can help different sectors of public health departments to pinpoint areas of high risk and high need. If we know in certain counties there is a higher prevalence of people over the age of 65 with Alzheimer’s, they can better allocate for funding or staffing or other resources that are going to be helpful for caring for people impacted by Alzheimer’s.”
Research shows Philadelphia County has the highest prevalence estimate in the state, at 15%, while Allegheny County is at 11.9%, and Westmoreland, 10.8%.
The results were revealed earlier this month for each of the 3,142 counties in the United States at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Amsterdam.
Kumar B. Rajan, professor in the department of internal medicine at Rush Medical College in Chicago, used cognitive data from the Chicago Health and Aging Project and population estimates from the National Center for Health Statistics to estimate the prevalence of Alzheimer’s in adults 65 and older.
“The estimates are based on cognitive and demographic characteristics,” Rajan said. “These new estimates add more granular data to our understanding of Alzheimer’s prevalence across the country.”
The three counties in the country with the highest Alzheimer’s incidence rate are Miami-Dade County, Fla., Baltimore City, Md., and Bronx County, N.Y., all at 16.6%.
Research indicates that the eastern and southeastern parts of the country have the highest prevalence of the disease. Those populations tend to skew older and have more Black and Hispanic residents.
“We know age has been well-established as the primary risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease,” Murphy said. “We know that Black Americans are twice as likely to get the disease than older whites. Older Hispanics are about 1 1/2 times (more likely) to have Alzheimer’s than older whites.”
Due to the duration of Alzheimer’s, it is the most expensive disease to care for in the country. According to the American Journal of Managed Care, the estimated health-care costs associated with Alzheimer’s treatment in 2022 were $321 billion, with costs projected to exceed $1 trillion by 2050.
An estimated 6.7 million Americans are living with the disease, according to the Alzheimer’s Facts and Figures report, and the number is growing.
Murphy said the biggest hope for the Alzheimer’s Association is that the data will really start raising the visibility of the disease.
“When you localize it, it starts to get people to really pay attention when it’s in their backyard,” Murphy said. “It gets community stakeholders to pay attention as well, especially those within the public policy initiative. It was long due because the trajectory of the disease is increasing. With the advancements we’re potentially having with effective treatments, the need to be able to elevate the awareness is even more paramount.”