Number of Americans with Alzheimer’s expected to soar in coming decades
September 21, 2018
The number of people living with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias will double by 2060, according to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Alzheimer’s disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States and the fifth leading cause among those aged 65 and older. It’s an irreversible, progressive brain disorder that slowly robs people of memory and, eventually, a person’s ability to perform even the simplest tasks. There is no cure.
In 2014, there were 5 million people in the U.S. with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias – about 1.6 percent of the U.S. population. That number is projected to grow to 13.9 million, nearly 3.3 percent of the population, in 2060.