States Where Alzheimer's Is Soaring

An estimated 10.8% of Alaska residents 65 and over have Alzheimer’s disease, the nation’s fifth lowest percentage. The number of new cases of the disease in the state is expected to increase by almost 30% by 2025, the fifth highest increase in the country. However, the mortality rate from Alzheimer’s among people of all ages is the lowest in the U.S, at 17.8 per 100,000 people. As a consequence of the rapid growth in Alzheimer’s cases, Medicaid costs of caring for residents with the disease is expected to climb by 44.6%, the highest increase in the country and more than double the U.S. average projected increase of 20.2%.

The number of people 65 and older with Alzheimer’s disease in Wyoming will surge by 30.0% by 2025, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. Large expected increases in the condition are sometimes in line with large projected increases in the elderly population. Wyoming’s 65 and older population is projected to increase to almost 140,000, or more than a fifth of the state’s total residents by 2030, according to a report by Wyoming’s Department of Administration and Information. Currently, the 65 and older population in the state composes 15.1% of the state’s population.

The number of 65 and older Nevada residents with Alzheimer’s is expected to grow 30.6% between 2020 and 2025. Currently, 15.0% of the state population is 65 years of age or older, and 11.2% of them have the disease, the 10th lowest share in the country. Nevada has the fourth lowest mortality rate from the condition, at 23.2 per 100,000 residents, or a total of 704 deaths.

Vermont’s residents who are 65 years of age or older make up 18.2% of the state’s population, the fourth highest share among all states. The expected large increase in the number of people 65 and older with Alzheimer’s in Vermont may be partially due to the large portion of people who are older than 75 in the state, accounting for 7.2% of residents, the ninth highest such share. The risk of Alzheimer’s increases significantly with age.

Nearly 17.0% of Arizona’s population is over the age of 65, and 12.9% of them have Alzheimer’s. The number of older adults with the condition is expected to increase by a third in the next five years, more than any other state. This may in part be due to the fact that Arizona has one of the highest shares of people older than 65. The risk of developing the disease increases with age. In 2018, Alzheimer’s disease was the fifth-leading cause of death in Arizona among state residents of all ages.