Home › Research › Caregiving
2021 Alzheimer's disease facts and figures
Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association, 2021-03-23
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. These figures reflect a decline in the number of caregivers compared with a decade earlier, as well as an increase in the amount of care provided by each remaining caregiver. Its costs, however, extend to family caregivers' increased risk for emotional distress and negative mental and physical health outcomes - costs that have been aggravated by COVID-19. Blacks, Hispanics, Asian Americans and Native Americans continue to have a higher burden of illness and lower access to health care compared with Whites. These findings emphasize the need to increase racial and ethnic diversity in both the dementia care workforce and in Alzheimer's clinical trials.
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.
- These figures reflect a decline in the number of caregivers compared with a decade earlier, as well as an increase in the amount of care provided by each remaining caregiver.
- Its costs, however, extend to family caregivers' increased risk for emotional distress and negative mental and physical health outcomes - costs that have been aggravated by COVID-19.
- Blacks, Hispanics, Asian Americans and Native Americans continue to have a higher burden of illness and lower access to health care compared with Whites.
- These findings emphasize the need to increase racial and ethnic diversity in both the dementia care workforce and in Alzheimer's clinical trials.
Why it matters
This report describes the public health impact of Alzheimer's and notes that racial and ethnic minorities have a higher burden of illness and less access to care. It emphasizes the need for more diversity in care and research, but does not test any treatment or prevention.
New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Caregiving →
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 57/100
Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, 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 53 of the 93 points we could judge it on, which is 57 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 | 3 / 5 | 2021 — within 6 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 | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| 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 2,213 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 5 / 5 | 316.1 citations a year over 7 year(s) since 2021 |
| Impact for its field and year | 6 / 6 | Cited 294.1× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 4 / 6 | Cited by 62 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 4 / 4 | Cited 713 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 33756057) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 53 / 93 | Scored on 18 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 53 of the 93 points we could judge it on is 57 out of 100. |
| Total | 57 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
May need a subscription OpenAlex found no free copy of the full text (checked 6 Feb 1020), so the publisher may charge for it. The PubMed abstract is free.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
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.
APA 7th
2021 Alzheimer's disease facts and figures. (2021). Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.12328
Vancouver
2021 Alzheimer's disease facts and figures. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association. 2021. doi:10.1002/alz.12328. PMID: 33756057.
BibTeX
@article{study2021-33756057,
title = {{2021 Alzheimer's disease facts and figures}},
journal = {Alzheimer's \& dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association},
year = {2021},
doi = {10.1002/alz.12328},
pmid = {33756057},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.12328}
}
Studies this one cites
Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here. Showing 12 of 195.
Later studies that cite this one
62 studies in the alzhub library list this one in their references. Showing the 8 highest-scoring.