The CDC Healthy Brain Initiative Progress 2006–2011

Dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, has profound social and economic implications, especially given the current trends of an aging population. Prevalence estimates differ due to the various approaches for identifying individuals with dementia, and can make it challenging to develop sound public health policy.3 Current estimates for the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease range from 2.6 million to 5.2 million Americans,4,5 and the risk of developing the disease increases with age. If present trends continue, by 2050, as many as 16 million people may be living in the United States with Alzheimer’s disease.

Further, for people with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, aggregate payments for health care, long-term care, and hospice are projected to increase from $183 billion in 2011 to $1.1 trillion in 2050 (in 2011 dollars). The growing burden on individuals, families and communities has moved Alzheimer’s disease, once considered a rare disorder, to a recognized major public health problem that severely impacts older adults and their families.