Estimating prevalence of early symptomatic Alzheimer's disease in the United States

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Understanding the prevalence of treatment-eligible Alzheimer's disease (AD) is crucial for policy planning. METHODS: We used a comprehensive literature review and population cascade approach to estimate the number of amyloid-positive, clinically diagnosed patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or mild dementia due to AD in the United States. RESULTS: An estimated 666,646 individuals were identified as having MCI due to AD (range: 351,926–1,227,776) and 620,850 individuals as having mild dementia due to AD (range: 445,082–820,339). In a US population of 76 million individuals aged 60 or older in 2021, the estimates of MCI and mild dementia due to AD increased with age. CONCLUSIONS: As earlier diagnosis of AD and new disease-modifying treatments become available, accurate population estimates are required to reduce uncertainty in the number of clinically diagnosed patients eligible for amyloid-targeting therapies.