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2026 Alzheimer's disease facts and figures
Alzheimer s & Dementia, 2026-04-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Abstract This article describes the public health impact of Alzheimer's disease (AD), including prevalence and incidence, mortality and morbidity, use and costs of care, and the ramifications of AD for family caregivers, the dementia workforce, and society. An estimated 7.4 million Americans age 65 and older live with clinical Alzheimer's dementia today. This number could increase to 13.8 million by 2060, absent medical breakthroughs that prevent or cure AD. Official AD death certificates recorded 116,022 deaths from AD in 2024. Alzheimer's disease was officially listed as the sixth‐leading cause of death in the United States in 2024 and the fifth‐leading cause of death among Americans age 65 and older. Between 2000 and 2024, deaths from stroke, heart disease, and HIV decreased, whereas reported deaths from AD increased 134%. More than 12 million family members and other unpaid caregivers provided an estimated 19.6 billion hours of care to people living with Alzheimer's or other dementias in 2025. Unpaid dementia caregiving was valued at $446.3 billion in 2025. Its costs, however, extend to unpaid caregivers’ increased risk for emotional distress and negative mental and physical health outcomes. Health care professionals and the broader community‐based workforce are involved in diagnosing, treating, and caring for people living with dementia. However, the United States faces growing shortages across different segments of the dementia care workforce, driven in part by the rising number of people living with dementia. Therefore, targeted programs and care delivery models will be needed to attract, better train, and effectively deploy health care and community‐based workers to provide dementia care. Average per‐person Medicare payments for services to beneficiaries age 65 and older living with AD or other dementias are nearly three times as great as payments for beneficiaries without these conditions, and Medicaid payments are more than 22 times as great. Total payments in 2026 for health care, long‐term care, and hospice services for people age 65 and older with dementia are estimated to be $409 billion. The Special Report examines Americans' views on brain health, the habits they link to it, their current practices, and how they want to receive support.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
2026 Alzheimer's disease facts and figures. (2026). Alzheimer s & Dementia. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.71345
Vancouver
2026 Alzheimer's disease facts and figures. Alzheimer s & Dementia. 2026. doi:10.1002/alz.71345.
BibTeX
@article{study2026-0c70bf62,
title = {{2026 Alzheimer's disease facts and figures}},
journal = {Alzheimer s \& Dementia},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.1002/alz.71345},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.71345}
}
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
- Its costs, however, extend to unpaid caregivers’ increased risk for emotional distress and negative mental and physical health outcomes.
Why it matters
This report estimates that 7.4 million Americans age 65 and older live with clinical Alzheimer's dementia today, a number that could reach 13.8 million by 2060 absent medical breakthroughs that prevent or cure the disease. It describes the public health burden, including 116,022 recorded deaths in 2024 and the costs of unpaid caregiving, rather than testing any treatment.
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 47/100
Published in a peer-reviewed 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 44 of the 93 points we could judge it on, which is 47 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Alzheimer s & Dementia) |
| 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 | 5 / 5 | 2026 — within 1 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 | 3 / 7 | Cited 33 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 16.5 citations a year over 2 year(s) since 2026 |
| Impact for its field and year | 6 / 6 | Cited 156.6× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 3 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 33 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 | 1 / 2 | Not in PubMed, but has a DOI |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Points | 44 / 93 | Scored on 18 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 44 of the 93 points we could judge it on is 47 out of 100. |
| Total | 47 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
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