Dementia cases in the U.S. expected to double by 2060

New cases of dementia in the U.S. are projected to double in the next three decades, a new study suggests. The team, including researchers from Johns Hopkins University, Mayo Clinic and New York University, projected new U.S. dementia cases would double from more than 500,000 in 2020 to approximately 1 million by 2060.

The authors said this increase is directly tied to the aging of the U.S. population. Greater risks were seen in women, Black Americans and people who carry the APOE4 gene, a gene that primarily increases the risk of Alzheimer’s, according to the study.

Researchers also found that white Americans are expected to see nearly double the number of dementia cases, while cases among Black Americans could triple. Also, research shows that the study analyzed the impact of vitamin D on the development of dementia in nearly 12,500 older adults who participated in the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center. None of the participants had dementia at the start of the study.

Dr. Jessica Langbaum, Co-Director of the Alzheimer’s Prevention Initiative at Banner Alzheimer’s Institute, joined us to discuss.

“This is just one study in large body of research and it hasn’t really been replicated in other studies. Perhaps that Vitamin D supplement is really a proxy for other healthcare and wellness factors,” Dr. Langbaum said.

The study produced by researchers from Johns Hopkins University, Mayo Clinic and New York University was an extensive study that included 15,000 people and developed over 20 years with people starting at 55 years old.

She says that Vitamin D in this case could be sun intake and exercise, the supplement version is not the only form of Vitamin D that should be considered in the results of the study. There are new medications and treatments that are practiced on patients with a diagnosis of a form of dementia and patients at risk for dementia.

“There is no easy answer, keeping yourself challenged and socially engaged, active, those are all important but not one of those things is a cure,” Dr. Langbaum said.