Miami-Dade has highest prevalence of people with Alzheimer’s, dementia in the US, new research finds – NBC 6 South Florida

New research released Monday at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Amsterdam revealed that Miami-Dade County has the highest prevalence of people with Alzheimer’s and dementia in the U.S.

Researchers used cognitive data from the Chicago Health and Aging Project (CHAP) and population estimates from the National Center for Health Statistics (NHCS) to estimate the prevalence of Alzheimer’s in adults 65 years and older in all U.S. counties. 

For counties with a population of 10,000 or more individuals age 65 or older, they estimate the highest Alzheimer’s prevalence rates are in: 

• Miami-Dade County, Florida (16.6%) 
• Baltimore City, Maryland (16.6%)
• Bronx County, New York (16.6%) 
• Prince George’s County, Maryland (16.1%) 
• Hinds County, Mississippi. (15.5%) 
• Orleans Parish, Louisiana (15.4%) 
• Dougherty County, Georgia (15.3%) 
• Orangeburg County, South Carolina (15.2%) 
• Imperial County, California (15.0%) 
• El Paso County, Texas (15.0%) 

Breakdown of the findings

An estimated 6.7 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease, according to the Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures report.

Based on previous projections, Facts and Figures shows the west and southwest regions of the U.S. will experience the largest percentage increase in people living with Alzheimer’s dementia between 2020 and 2025. 

Researchers noted a combination of specific demographic characteristics that may explain the higher prevalence in these counties, including older average age and higher percentages of Black and Hispanic residents.

Dr. Kumar B. Rajan, professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at Rush Medical College, said the estimates of the research are based on cognitive and demographic characteristics.

“Alzheimer’s is a multifactorial disease involving several risk characteristics that interact with demographic risk factors and ultimately contribute to the prevalence,” Rajan said.

What are the risk factors for Alzheimer’s and dementia?

Age is a known primary risk factor for Alzheimer’s, but race can also play a big role.

According to Alzheimer’s Association 2023 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures, older Black Americans are about twice as likely to have Alzheimer’s or other dementias as older Whites, and older Hispanics are about one and one-half times as likely to have Alzheimer’s or other dementias as older Whites. 

“These new estimates add more granular data to our understanding of Alzheimer’s prevalence across the country,” said Rajan. “This information, in addition to raising awareness of the Alzheimer’s crisis in specific communities, may help public health programs better allocate funding, staffing and other resources for caring for people with Alzheimer’s and all other dementia.” 

How could this research help Miami-Dade County?

Experts believe that these estimates can help state and federal public health officials to determine the burden of this disease on the health care system, and county-level estimates will help better understand and pinpoint areas of high risk and high need.