Alzheimer's Association releases 2020 Facts & Figures Report

The Alzheimer’s Association recently released its 2020 Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures report, which provides an in-depth look at the latest statistics and information on Alzheimer’s prevalence, incidence, mortality, costs of care and impact on caregivers across the country and in Texas.

One of the biggest takeaways from this year’s report, according to the Alzheimer's Association, is that the Alzheimer’s burden in the country and Texas continues to grow.

• More people are living with the disease – An estimated 5.8 million Americans age 65 and older have Alzheimer’s dementia in 2020, including  400,000 in Texas.
• More family and friends are serving as Alzheimer’s caregivers – In Texas, 1,449,000 caregivers provided a total of 1,650,000,000 hours of unpaid care, valued at a total of $21,628,000,000.
• Death rates from Alzheimer’s continue to climb – Deaths due to Alzheimer’s have increased an alarming 146 percent since 2000, while deaths for other major diseases remained flat or decreased. Alzheimer’s disease is the sixth-leading cause of death in the U.S. And, the fifth-leading cause of death for people 65 and older and of women of any age.
• The costs are unsustainable – For the fourth consecutive year the cost of caring for individuals with Alzheimer’s is surpassing a quarter of a trillion dollars. Here in Texas the Medicaid costs of caring for people with Alzheimer’s is estimated at $3.202 billion. These costs are projected to increase by 23.3% over the next 5 years.