EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 4 PM ET, March 05, 2014
Study: Alzheimer鈥檚 Disease a Much Larger Cause of Death Than Reported
MINNEAPOLIS -
A new study suggests that may contribute to close to as many deaths in the United States as heart disease or cancer. The research is published in the March 5, 2014, online issue of , the medical journal of the . Currently, Alzheimer鈥檚 disease falls sixth on the list of leading causes of death in the United States according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), whereas heart disease and cancer are numbers one and two, respectively. These numbers are based on what is reported on death certificates. 鈥淎lzheimer鈥檚 disease and other dementias are under-reported on death certificates and medical records,鈥 said study author Bryan D. James, PhD, of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. 鈥淒eath certificates often list the immediate cause of death, such as pneumonia, rather than listing dementia as an underlying cause.鈥 James added that attempting to identify a single cause of death does not always capture the reality of the process of dying for most elderly people, as multiple health issues often contribute. 鈥淭he estimates generated by our analysis suggest that deaths from Alzheimer鈥檚 disease far exceed the numbers reported by the CDC and those listed on death certificates,鈥 said James. For the study, 2,566 people ages 65 and older received annual testing for dementia. The average age of the participants was 78. The research found that after an average of eight years, 1,090 participants died. A total of 559 participants without dementia at the start of the study developed Alzheimer鈥檚 disease. The average time from diagnosis to death was about four years. After death, Alzheimer鈥檚 disease was confirmed through autopsy for about 90 percent of those who were clinically diagnosed. The death rate was more than four times higher after a diagnosis of Alzheimer鈥檚 in people age 75 to 84 and nearly three times higher in people age 85 and older. More than one-third of all deaths in those age groups were attributable to Alzheimer鈥檚 disease. James said this translates into an estimated 503,400 deaths from Alzheimer鈥檚 in the U.S. population over age 75 in 2010, which is five to six times higher than the 83,494 number reported by the CDC based on death certificates. 鈥淒etermining the true effects of dementia in this country is important for raising public awareness and identifying research priorities regarding this epidemic,鈥 said James. The study was supported by the National Institute on Aging and the Illinois Department of Public Health. The authors thank the participants in the Religious Orders Study and the Rush Memory and Aging Project. To learn more about Alzheimer鈥檚 disease, please visit .