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2020 Alzheimer's disease facts and figures
Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association, 2020-03-10
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
This article describes the public health impact of Alzheimer's disease (AD), including incidence and prevalence, mortality and morbidity, use and costs of care, and the overall impact on caregivers and society. The Special Report discusses the future challenges of meeting care demands for the growing number of people living with Alzheimer's dementia in the United States with a particular emphasis on primary care. By mid-century, the number of Americans age 65 and older with Alzheimer's dementia may grow to 13.8 million. This represents a steep increase from the estimated 5.8 million Americans age 65 and older who have Alzheimer's dementia today. Official death certificates recorded 122,019 deaths from AD in 2018, the latest year for which data are available, making Alzheimer's the sixth leading cause of death in the United States and the fifth leading cause of death among Americans age 65 and older. Between 2000 and 2018, deaths resulting from stroke, HIV and heart disease decreased, whereas reported deaths from Alzheimer's increased 146.2%. In 2019, more than 16 million family members and other unpaid caregivers provided an estimated 18.6 billion hours of care to people with Alzheimer's or other dementias. This care is valued at nearly $244 billion, but its costs extend to family caregivers' increased risk for emotional distress and negative mental and physical health outcomes. Average per-person Medicare payments for services to beneficiaries age 65 and older with AD or other dementias are more than three times as great as payments for beneficiaries without these conditions, and Medicaid payments are more than 23 times as great. Total payments in 2020 for health care, long-term care and hospice services for people age 65 and older with dementia are estimated to be $305 billion. As the population of Americans living with Alzheimer's dementia increases, the burden of caring for that population also increases. These challenges are exacerbated by a shortage of dementia care specialists, which places an increasing burden on primary care physicians (PCPs) to provide care for people living with dementia. Many PCPs feel underprepared and inadequately trained to handle dementia care responsibilities effectively. This report includes recommendations for maximizing quality care in the face of the shortage of specialists and training challenges in primary care.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
2020 Alzheimer's disease facts and figures. (2020). Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.12068
Vancouver
2020 Alzheimer's disease facts and figures. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association. 2020. doi:10.1002/alz.12068. PMID: 32157811.
BibTeX
@article{study2020-32157811,
title = {{2020 Alzheimer's disease facts and figures}},
journal = {Alzheimer's \& dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association},
year = {2020},
doi = {10.1002/alz.12068},
pmid = {32157811},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.12068}
}
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. This record has no authors, so the citation leaves them out. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
Key findings
- This article describes the public health impact of Alzheimer's disease (AD), including incidence and prevalence, mortality and morbidity, use and costs of care, and the overall impact on caregivers and society.
- This care is valued at nearly $244 billion, but its costs extend to family caregivers' increased risk for emotional distress and negative mental and physical health outcomes.
Why it matters
This 2020 report pulls together US figures on Alzheimer's: an estimated 5.8 million Americans aged 65 and older had Alzheimer's dementia, a number it says "may grow to 13.8 million" by mid-century, and more than 16 million unpaid caregivers gave an estimated 18.6 billion hours of care valued at nearly $244 billion. Its special report says a shortage of dementia specialists is shifting care onto primary care doctors, many of whom "feel underprepared and inadequately trained". It is a descriptive report with estimates and projections, not a test of any treatment, and its figures are for the United States in 2018–2020.
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Study details
- Effect size146.2%
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 58/100
Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on senior author's track record and institution's track record, so those were left out: it earned 54 of the 93 points we could judge it on, which is 58 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Alzheimer s & Dementia: journal h-index 228 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 2 / 5 | 2020 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 2 / 3 | Effect reported as a number, without an interval or test |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 7 / 7 | Cited 2,357 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 5 / 5 | 294.6 citations a year over 8 year(s) since 2020 |
| Impact for its field and year | 6 / 6 | Cited 293.6× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 4 / 6 | Cited by 66 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 4 / 4 | Cited 521 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 0 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 0 institution(s) in 0 countries — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete) |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 32157811) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 54 / 93 | Scored on 18 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 54 of the 93 points we could judge it on is 58 out of 100. |
| Total | 58 / 100 | — |
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