Alzheimer Death Rates Have Significantly Increased Over 15 Years

The rate of Alzheimer disease (AD) related-death has increased by 54.5% since 1999, according to the latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

The researchers analyzed mortality data from the National Vital Statistics System from 1999 to 2014, and determined rates of AD-related death, demographic characteristics, and location of death.
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Overall, the age-adjusted rate of death from 1999 to 2014 increased by 54.5%, from 16.5 deaths per 100,000 to 25.4 deaths per 100,000.

Age-specific rates of death associated with AD increased in adults aged 75 to 84 years from 129.5 per 100,000 in 1999 to 185.6 per 100,000 in 2014. Death rates for adults 85 years and older also increased from 601.3 per 100,000 in 1999 to 1006.8 per 100,000 in 2014.

In 1999 and 2014, the majority of deaths occurred in a nursing home or long-term care facility (67.5% and 54.1%, respectively). However, the percentage of people with AD who died at home increased from 13.9% in 1999 to 24.9% in 2014.

“An increasing number of Alzheimer’s deaths coupled with an increasing number of patients dying at home suggests that there is an increasing number of caregivers of persons with Alzheimer,” the report concluded.

“It is likely that these caregivers might benefit from interventions such as education, respite care, and case management that can lessen the potential burden of caregiving.”

—Melissa Weiss

Reference:

Taylor CA, Greenlund SF, McGuire LC, Lu H, and Croft JB. Deaths from Alzheimer’s Disease—United States, 1999-2014. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/66/wr/mm6620a1.htm. Published May 26, 2017. Accessed May 26, 2017.