Hristina Byrnes and Grant Suneson, 24/7 Wall St. via The Center Square
The Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved the first new treatment for Alzheimer’s disease in about 20 years. Currently available Alzheimer’s drugs treat the disease’s symptoms. The newly-approved medicine, called Aduhelm, is the first to attack a substance that could be associated with the underlying causes of the disease — a toxic and sticky protein in the brain called amyloid.
The Alzheimer’s Association estimates that 6.0 million Americans 65 and older were living with the disease as of 2020, or 12% of the 65 and over population. As more and more of the baby boomer generation reaches that age, the number of Americans with the disease will inevitably increase.
The increase in the number of people 65 and over with Alzheimer’s disease in Georgia between 2000 and 2025 is expected to be the 6th largest at 26.7%. The number of older Americans with Alzheimer’s is projected to grow by 18.5% during that time.
As of last year, 150,000 Georgia residents over the age of 65 have been diagnosed with the condition. The number is estimated to increase to 190,000 by 2025.
Though the share of Georgia’s population aged 65 and over is relatively low, the proportion of state residents 60 and older is growing faster than any other age group of the population, according to the U.S. Census. By 2030, one in five residents will be 60 or older. The number of people with Alzheimer’s disease in Georgia is projected to increase by 26.7%, more than all but five states, from 150,000 in 2020 to 190,000 in 2025. In 2019, the disease killed 4,221 people, or 40 per 100,000 residents. The U.S. Alzhemer’s mortality rate is 37 per 100,000 people.
To determine the states where Alzheimer’s is soaring, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the projected increase in the number of Americans 65 and older with Alzheimer’s disease between 2020 and 2025 in every state from the 2021 Alzheimer’s Association’s Alzheimer’s disease Facts and Figures report. These are the states where Alzheimer’s is expected to increase significantly.
| State | People 65+ with Alzheimer’s: 2020 | Est. people 65+ with Alzheimer’s: 2025 | Percentage increase | Pct. of population 65+ | Pct. of population 65+ with Alzheimer’s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Dakota | 15,000 | 16,000 | 6.7% | 14.9% | 13.3% |
| Missouri | 120,000 | 130,000 | 8.3% | 16.5% | 11.9% |
| Wisconsin | 120,000 | 130,000 | 8.3% | 16.5% | 12.6% |
| New Jersey | 190,000 | 210,000 | 10.5% | 15.9% | 13.5% |
| Iowa | 66,000 | 73,000 | 10.6% | 16.7% | 12.6% |
| South Dakota | 18,000 | 20,000 | 11.1% | 16.3% | 12.7% |
| New York | 410,000 | 460,000 | 12.2% | 16.1% | 13.0% |
| Rhode Island | 24,000 | 27,000 | 12.5% | 16.8% | 13.5% |
| Kansas | 55,000 | 62,000 | 12.7% | 15.4% | 12.2% |
| West Virginia | 39,000 | 44,000 | 12.8% | 19.4% | 11.1% |
| Illinois | 230,000 | 260,000 | 13.0% | 15.2% | 11.8% |
| Oklahoma | 67,000 | 76,000 | 13.4% | 15.3% | 11.1% |
| Ohio | 220,000 | 250,000 | 13.6% | 16.7% | 11.3% |
| Connecticut | 80,000 | 91,000 | 13.8% | 16.8% | 13.3% |
| Mississippi | 57,000 | 65,000 | 14.0% | 15.4% | 12.4% |
| Nebraska | 35,000 | 40,000 | 14.3% | 15.4% | 11.9% |
| Pennsylvania | 280,000 | 320,000 | 14.3% | 17.8% | 12.3% |
| Alabama | 96,000 | 110,000 | 14.6% | 16.5% | 11.9% |
| Kentucky | 75,000 | 86,000 | 14.7% | 16.0% | 10.6% |
| Massachusetts | 130,000 | 150,000 | 15.4% | 16.2% | 11.7% |
| Arkansas | 58,000 | 67,000 | 15.5% | 16.6% | 11.6% |
| Michigan | 190,000 | 220,000 | 15.8% | 16.7% | 11.4% |
| North Carolina | 180,000 | 210,000 | 16.7% | 15.9% | 11.1% |
| Tennessee | 120,000 | 140,000 | 16.7% | 16.0% | 11.2% |
| Washington | 120,000 | 140,000 | 16.7% | 15.1% | 10.7% |
| Indiana | 110,000 | 130,000 | 18.2% | 15.4% | 10.7% |
| Maryland | 110,000 | 130,000 | 18.2% | 15.0% | 12.2% |
| Louisiana | 92,000 | 110,000 | 19.6% | 15.0% | 13.2% |
| Hawaii | 29,000 | 35,000 | 20.7% | 17.8% | 11.4% |
| Maine | 29,000 | 35,000 | 20.7% | 20.0% | 10.8% |
| Colorado | 76,000 | 92,000 | 21.1% | 13.8% | 9.8% |
| Delaware | 19,000 | 23,000 | 21.1% | 18.2% | 10.9% |
| Minnesota | 99,000 | 120,000 | 21.2% | 15.4% | 11.5% |
| California | 690,000 | 840,000 | 21.7% | 14.0% | 12.6% |
| Oregon | 69,000 | 84,000 | 21.7% | 17.2% | 9.7% |
| Idaho | 27,000 | 33,000 | 22.2% | 15.4% | 10.2% |
| Texas | 400,000 | 490,000 | 22.5% | 12.3% | 11.6% |
| Montana | 22,000 | 27,000 | 22.7% | 18.2% | 11.5% |
| New Hampshire | 26,000 | 32,000 | 23.1% | 17.5% | 11.0% |
| New Mexico | 43,000 | 53,000 | 23.3% | 16.9% | 12.2% |
| Utah | 34,000 | 42,000 | 23.5% | 10.8% | 10.2% |
| Florida | 580,000 | 720,000 | 24.1% | 20.1% | 13.8% |
| South Carolina | 95,000 | 120,000 | 26.3% | 17.2% | 11.0% |
| Georgia | 150,000 | 190,000 | 26.7% | 13.5% | 10.7% |
| Virginia | 150,000 | 190,000 | 26.7% | 15.0% | 11.8% |
| Alaska | 8,500 | 11,000 | 29.4% | 11.2% | 10.3% |
| Wyoming | 10,000 | 13,000 | 30.0% | 15.7% | 10.9% |
| Nevada | 49,000 | 64,000 | 30.6% | 15.4% | 10.7% |
| Vermont | 13,000 | 17,000 | 30.8% | 18.8% | 11.1% |
| Arizona | 150,000 | 200,000 | 33.3% | 17.1% | 12.4% |
