Alzheimer’s Causes More Deaths Than Reported

Hundreds of thousands of people are dying in the U.S. without knowing they have dementia. The number of Alzheimer's-related deaths in the U.S. is up to six times higher than what is reported, according to a new study.

The study, published in Neurology, provides evidence that well over 500,000 deaths from Alzheimer's occurred in people in the U.S., even though only a small portion of those deaths was ever attributed to dementia on their death certificates.

According to the study, 83,494 people reportedly died of Alzheimer's in 2010. However, after following 2,566 people 65 years old and older who were receiving annual dementia testing, researchers found that 64.2 percent of these patients died of Alzheimer's within the next eight years. Remarkably, 559 (21.8 percent) of these participants didn't even have the disease at the start of the study.

Researchers also found that the death rate in 75 to 84 year old individuals diagnosed with Alzheimer's was more than four times higher than seniors of the same age group who did not show signs of dementia. The same rate was three times higher than healthy seniors in those 85 and older. Comparing this data to annual morbidity data among seniors in the U.S., researchers concluded that more than one third of all deaths in seniors past the age of 75 years old could be attributed to Alzheimer's disease.

Knowing that, researchers estimated that in 2010, the actual number of deaths due to Alzheimer's disease was about 503,400, which is well over six times higher than the reported number for that year.

George McNamara, Head of Policy and Public Affairs for the Alzheimer's Society based in the U.K. commented on this study saying that although this study was of a U.S. sample, the fact that Alzheimer's remains an under-diagnosed is a global problem.

"Clearly this shows just how far we have to go before everyone can get the timely diagnosis that opens the door to support and potential treatments," he said.

The study was published in Neurology on March 5.